


Broken Pieces

by Ruth_Oakenshield



Category: Aiden Turner ( Jack Gray), Jason Momoa (Deputy Sheriff Joe), Jeremy Renner (Sheriff Dan), Michael Fassbender (Ed Gray), Richard Armitage (Boaz)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:47:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 40
Words: 143,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22984276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruth_Oakenshield/pseuds/Ruth_Oakenshield
Summary: This is my first attempt at writing any kind of story.  The setting is a small town in the Rocky Mountains of Montana in the 1930's era.When I read, I typically am seeing a movie going in my head of what I'm reading... only this time it's the opposite. I have this movie going in my head and am trying to record it in writing. I have no clue where it's going, nor how it's going to end.Come join me on this adventure and lets see where it takes us.This entire work is copyrighted and if you wish to use any of it, please contact me for permissions.
Relationships: Amy / Joe, Boaz /Abbie, Mame/Louie, Peggy "Peg" / Henry, Ruth "Sunshine" / Boaz "Bo", Ruth / Ed, Ruth / Jack, Ruth / Lee, Ruth / Zeus, Sheriff Dan / Sophie
Kudos: 1





	1. Pain & Suffering

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing any kind of story. The setting is a small town in the Rocky Mountains of Montana in the 1930's era.
> 
> When I read, I typically am seeing a movie going in my head of what I'm reading... only this time it's the opposite. I have this movie going in my head and am trying to record it in writing. I have no clue where it's going, nor how it's going to end. 
> 
> Come join me on this adventure and lets see where it takes us.
> 
> This entire work is copyrighted and if you wish to use any of it, please contact me for permissions.

**Chapter 1**

**“PAIN & SUFFERING”**

  
“Where am I? Why am I in a puddle?” The woman had awoken cold, wet, shivering and in a whole lot of pain. She was laying on her right side on something wet, cold, hard and gravelly. Her head felt like it was pounding, and her brain felt foggy. 

  
She couldn’t remember what happened. “Where the hell am I? Why can’t I move very well? How did I get here and like this?” She asked herself as she lay where she was at. She decided to try to open her eyes and look around, but her right one would not open, and the whole right side of her face and head hurt like hell. Her left eye she could crack open about half -way. She gasped at what she saw… and then cringed at the pain the deep breath caused.

  
What she saw when she opened her eye sure made her heart skip a few beats! It was as dark as ink. The moon was trying to peak through the gray clouds overhead so she could see a little bit of the landscape. (The clouds were still showing off the lightning show that had rolled through the area a little earlier, but no thunder was heard.) Stars could be seen peeking out from between a few clouds. As her eye panned down from the sky to where she lay, she realized she was laying on the side of a two-lane road, in the gravel of the shoulder closest to the face of a mountain. Evergreen trees were all over the landscape. Moisture dripped from everything, and she realized that, yes, she was lying in a rather deep puddle. No vehicles could be heard, just some owls hooting in the distance. “It must not be a well-traveled road…” she thought to herself as she tried to make sense of things.

  
Everything looked like it had been drenched in a rainstorm…herself included, and it had. Her auburn mane of hair was plastered to her face and head. She tried to move her arms to brush it out of her face and sit up. But she quickly and painfully realized that she was wrapped up in a very wet blanket. She also realized her wrists were tightly bound and she was not wearing any clothing. Her wrists burned from whatever was binding them together, her right arm, shoulder, leg and hip hurt badly. She was also getting colder and was very thirsty and hungry.

  
It was getting hard to think clearly again as the pain from trying to move had made her head pound and her vison blurry. She lay there dazed and shivering. Her foggy brain trying to remember what happened and how she ended up like this, but she just couldn’t remember. Annoyed that she couldn’t think clearly, she started to become afraid that she was going to die there. “I have to sit up and get moving or I’m not going to be found. I don’t want to die like THIS! 

  
Again, she tried to sit up, but a searing pain shot through her whole body from head to toe, and she let out a cry and flopped back down on her side, causing another jolt of pain to course through her body. After the pain died down, she tried to think of how she was going to get untangled from the blanket and move out of the puddle she was laying in. Then she heard a motor vehicle approaching and saw a beam from the headlights peak around the curve of the mountainside. She tried to roll onto her back and sit up that way, but the searing pain shot through her once again and a gravelly stinging sensation burned into her back as she cried out, lost consciousness, and fell back into the puddle…


	2. Happy Louie's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so in the last chapter you met the Main female character... now meet the Main male character, learn a bit of his backstory, and meet his closest friends.

**Chapter 2**   
**“HAPPY LOUIE’S”**

  
Boaz sat at the counter of Happy Louie’s staring at his mug of beer and a black & white photograph. It was the 2nd anniversary of his beloved wife and daughter’s death. Two years…. Two years since his beloved Abbie died in childbirth. Two years since his little girl, Faith, died. They were too far from the hospital. They never would’ve made it in time anyway. The early snowstorm that year had made sure of that outcome…

  
That damn snowstorm cost him not only his two greatest treasures - his girls - but also robbed him of his joy, his love, his confidence and his career. When he couldn’t save them and they both died, he lost all confidence in his skills/talents as a doctor and he quit practicing and became a reclusive widower. He couldn’t stop his wife’s contractions, nor the bleeding and he lost her shortly after she gave birth to Faith. Faith came too early and died in his arms shortly after her mother died. He was shaken to the core sitting there holding his dead daughter in his hand and cradling his dead wife in his arm. He lost them both, and he felt like a failure. 

  
So, he drank to drown his sorrows, hid away from everyone and became “the reclusive widower of the valley”. Only coming out from his property when he needed food, booze and other necessary supplies. He only allowed a very small handful of people into his life after that and only on rare occasions.

  
He had showed up at Happy Louie’s late that morning around 10:30 am. They had just opened, and he stumbled in looking haggard. His dark hair streaked with silver strands hung just past his shoulders, looking shaggy after not being cut for two years. His normally bright, laughing, sapphire blue eyes, were dull and solemn looking. They were surrounded by dark circles and wrinkles at the outer edges. His clothes were disheveled. His worn blue jeans were dirty, holey, frayed and tattered at the knees and at the backs of the pant cuffs near the heel of his worn-out work boots. His black undershirt that was once tight on his chest now hung loose about him and was covered by a green, black and white flannel that was dingy and wearing out at the elbows. His brown leather jacket was worn and faded. His worn-out work boots were muddy and loosely laced so he could just slide into them without having to bother to bend down and tie them. 

  
Amy, the server at the counter was a friend of Boaz & Abbie for many years. Seeing him appear at the door upon opening today was not a surprise to her. She knew he would come today. He did so last year on the anniversary of his family’s death too. What WAS a surprise to her was how thin and haggard he looked. She was worried and gave Mame a look and Mame nodded.

  
Amy walked over and gave him a hug and showed him to the counter. Everyone knew why he was there and that he’d be there most likely all day, so she told him, “Hey, Boaz, you are welcome to stay as long as you need to today, but NO drinks ‘till you hand over the keys and have some real grub. Have you even been eating lately? You’re looking so much thinner since the last time we saw you a couple months ago!"

  
He looked up with dull, sad, blue-gray eyes and grunted.

Amy smiles, holds her hand out on the counter, and says, “Come on, Bo, you know you won’t be fit to drive anywhere by the time you decide to leave tonight. I’ll make sure your truck and supplies are safely parked at the garage and make sure you get home safely. So, hand em over, big guy, if you’re expecting me to give you any alcohol today.”

  
He growls, not wanting to comply, but realizes when he looks up at her face that she is serious and won’t give him any alcohol if he doesn’t turn over the keys to the truck. She wiggles the fingers on the outstretched hand. He knows he won’t win this argument and he wants his booze. He growls again but gives her the keys.

She hands him a menu as he plops down on one of the bar stools and she says, “Now pick something to eat for starters. You need food in your belly before alcohol. Abbie would kill me if she could see how thin you’ve gotten! So, what’ll it be big guy?”

  
Boaz looks at the menu and orders chili and a beer and some of Mame’s famous buttermilk biscuits. Suddenly he hears a loud clap of thunder and turns to the windows. He sees it start pouring rain outside and everyone out there is running for cover of the boardwalks and businesses to wait out the rain. He is glad he thought to put the waxed tarp on over his purchases that were in the back of the truck, so they won’t get soaked. He sits on the bar stool and watches it rain for a while. Lost in his thoughts and thinking how appropriate it is that it’s raining on this particular day; the weather matching his mood. 

  
Finally, Amy comes over with his food and beer. He takes them and walks over to a window seat in the corner. He takes his time eating. He always loved food. Especially Abbie’s cooking. Mame’s & Louie’s cooking is almost as good as Abbie’s was. Boaz sighs and rubs his face. He scratches at the stubble along the edge of his cheek and jawline. He remembered how much Abbie hated it when he grew his beard out in the fall and winter. The memory made his heart ache.

  
He reaches into his wallet and pulls out the black & white picture of him and Abbie. It was the last photo taken of her. She was pregnant with Faith and they were at a parade. The Sheriff was having fun using his new camera and offered to take their picture. That was the closest thing he had to a family photo of the three of them.

  
He looks at the photo till it blurs. Tears fill his eyes. He blinks them back, sets the photo against the rack in front of him that holds the menus, salt & pepper, ketchup & mustard and continues to eat his chili and buttermilk biscuits. Mame had given him a whole basket full of them 'on the house'.

When he finishes the chili and biscuits and finds his beer mug almost empty, he grabs the photo and his dishes and walks up to the counter. He gives Amy the dirty dishes, walks over to the barstool at the counter nearest the wall, plops down on the bar stool, and orders another beer. He carefully puts the photo against the condiment rack again so he can look at it while he drinks. A few people greet him, but don’t have any lengthy conversations with him. Everyone knows he just wants to be left alone to his beer and his thoughts.

  
He turns and rests his back against the wall, propping his feet on the next barstool, and watches it rain outside till the storm blows through several hours and several beers later. Amy and Mame check on him throughout the day and keep his beer full. Louie occasionally sends out new foods in the early afternoon for him to sample that he is thinking about adding to the menu and asks him what he thinks of them. But otherwise they leave him alone. He doesn’t drink the beers very fast, just kinda nurses them throughout the day, to Amy’s relief.

  
Amy takes her supper break at 5pm and calls her friend Dan, who is the current Sheriff. They talk for a bit and she lets him know that Boaz has been there nearly all day and will be too drunk to drive home. She tells him that Mame had Louie take Bo’s truck over to the garage for the night so Bo couldn’t do anything dumb with it like drive off a cliff or hit someone. Amy asks him if he could come drive Bo home when he gets off duty. He agrees to do so, and they hang up. 

  
The afternoon went by uneventfully other than the thunderstorms and the evening so far had been just drizzling and light rain and mist intermittently. It had been a warm fall so far and the rain was sorely needed but came too late in the growing season to be of any real help now. It’s been raining like this for the past week. It’s getting darker earlier now and colder at night lately; she wonders if the rain will turn to snow soon. If the temps get too cold, driving could get treacherous as the wet roads turn into ice covered ones.

  
Amy walks over to Boaz and notices him staring at the picture again and that his beer is almost gone. He takes a swig of it and sighs in frustration.

“You ok, Bo?” She asks and places a hand on his shoulder. It tenses briefly then sags forward.

“I miss her, Amy. I feel so lost and empty… I miss her guidance, strength and love,” Boaz whispers.

Amy smiles and nods. “I miss her too, Bo. She was my best friend. We did EVERYTHING together. When she died, I lost a big chunk of my life too. Everyone misses her, Bo. You’re not the only one left feeling like they have a hole in their heart. Abbie lit up any room she walked into and was the best damn nurse this town had next to Peggy & Sophie!” 

Boaz groans and slowly nods his head. 

"The townspeople miss YOU too Boaz. We’re all concerned and worry about you,” Mame says as she walks over to buss a booth near Boaz. She walks up to him, and give him a short hug and a pat on the back and a quick back rub across his shoulder blades. He gives her a sad smile. “Do ya want another beer?” she asks as she goes back to bussing the booth.

“Not yet, I want to finish this one first,” Boaz replies as he watches her work.

He stands up, yawns and stretches. He sways a little bit as the alcohol makes him tipsy. Amy steadies him and then helps him sit back down on the barstool and leans him back up against the wall and counter. 

  
“Let him be, Amy,” Mame says, “Come help me with all these dishes.”

Amy walks over and grabs an armload of the dirty dishes and puts them in the dish tub.

She looks at Mame and quietly says, “Is he gonna be ok tonight, Mame? He’s tipsy and I’m worried he may pass out or fall when he gets back to the cabin...IF he makes it back to the cabin!”

Mame looks in his direction and sees he had his head in his hands as his elbows resting on the counter and he’s got the picture between his elbows so he can see it.

“Just let him be, Amy, you know how he is,” Mame says.

Amy looks worried. “Ya, but he seems even more depressed than usual, Mame… almost suicidal. I hope you don’t mind that I made him give me the truck keys so he wouldn’t try to drive home drunk,” she says as she lifts the tub.

"No, I don’t mind in this case, Amy. I was going to do it when I saw how he looked as he arrived. You just beat me to it!” Mame chuckles. “I’m gonna go check on Louie in the back. He keeps ‘creating’ new items for the menu. Holler if you need me for anything.”

  
“Ok Mame,” Amy replies as she carries the tub of dirty dishes to the young dishwasher they hired a few weeks ago and comes back out to the bar counter. 

  
Boaz takes another swig of his beer and runs his finger along Abbie’s face and belly in the photo.

“I miss you sweetheart! I need you and you’re gone. I need your light and energy and guidance. I’m so lost without it here!’ he quietly whispers to the photo.

  
Boaz finishes his beer and just before he could ask Amy for another one, he hears the bell on the door chime as a patron enters the bar. She walks over to talk to the patron. Bo doesn’t bother to look up or pay attention to the conversation Amy has with the patron. He shoves the empty mug aside with a growl. Amy looks over to him and shakes her head.

She walks over to him and says, “Bo, don’t you think you’ve had enough beers for one day?”

Concern is etched on her face. She knows he is still wanting to drown his sorrows and grief of his loss in that beer, but she also knows it won’t help him move on and heal. What Boaz didn’t see, that everyone else did, was that he wasn’t the only one mourning his loss that day. The whole town was grieving with him. Abbie’s death and that blizzard hit their community hard with devastating effects. That blizzard claimed many lives that year, not just Abbie’s and Faith’s. 

  
Though Boaz blamed himself for the deaths of his family, no one else in the community did. They all knew Abbie had always wanted to live outside of town, and in the forested area of the mountains. She liked her privacy, peace and quiet that the forests provided. They were about two hours from town by truck, and that left enough room for the town to grow, but not to their doorstep in her lifetime. 

  
Amy and Abbie were childhood friends. BEST friends along with Sophie. Their fathers and brothers were fur trappers and loggers. The three families did a lot of stuff together and the girls were almost inseparable. Until Abbie and Sophie decided to go to college to become nurses. There Abbie met Boaz, they dated then married and settled back in Montana. Sophie moved back a year later, met Dan and got married. Amy got hired on at Happy Louie’s waiting tables and bartending and had been there for years. Everyone knew her; Mame & Louie thought of her as the daughter they never had. 

  
When they moved back to Abbie’s and Sophie’s hometown where a doctor, nurses, clinics and hospitals were desperately needed, Abbie and Sophie and their friend Peggy talked Boaz into opening a hospital / clinic in town. They brought out nurses to staff it and help Boaz. Peggy was older than Sophie or Abbie and had more experience nursing and midwifing so it was agreed she was hired and would be the charge nurse and answer directly to Boaz regarding any nursing/ patient info/help he may need. As the practice grew, he had brought out more doctors also. 

  
He and Abbie had been married for 5 years when Abbie got pregnant and Bo made her take “maternity leave” as he called it. She grumbled about it and eventually convinced him to let her be the receptionist for the office. Answering phones, scheduling appointments, filing and greeting people, making coffee. “Easy stuff” she called it. She was such a social butterfly but needed to recharge in peace and quiet by the day’s end. 

  
Boaz shakes his head, looks at Amy and says, “No amount of beer will completely take away the guilt and pain that haunt me. It just helps quiet the demons for a while.”

Amy frowns and nods. “Bo, you’ve had quite a few beers today and not much to eat except the biscuits, chili and samples from Louie. I’m cutting you off after this last one cuz if I don’t, Abbie would be pissed at me. I don’t want you to drink yourself to death.”

And she slides him another beer down the countertop. 

  
Just then Sheriff Dan plops down between Amy and Boaz and catches the beer before Boaz can grab it, spilling some on the counter and his hand.

“Amy, Dear, you don’t have to cut him off, cuz I am.”

He slides the beer back to her and she nods. She hands him a towel to mop up the mess. Boaz growls and shoves the picture back into his wallet and shoves his wallet into the jacket pocket by his chest.

“Why are you here, Dan?” he growls, “Don’t you have somewhere else to be? Someone to arrest maybe?” 

Dan chuckles as he wipes his hand on the towel and mops up the spilled beer for Amy.

“No, Boaz, I don’t have anyplace I am needed at the moment, other than right here. My best friend is still mourning over the loss of his wife and child and needs his friends to commiserate with him.”

Boaz shakes his head and tries to stand but gets dizzy and sits back down. He starts patting himself down looking for his keys.

Frustrated that he can’t remember where he put them, he says in his deep, gravelly voice, “All I need right now is my truck’s keys and my truck so I can go home and be alone.” 

  
“And that’s the other reason why I’m here Boaz- to keep you, my dear friend, from doing something really stupid on the anniversary of his family’s death. There will be no driving for you tonight,” says Dan.

Boaz shoves his head back into his hands, elbows resting on the counter, and growls again as he rubs his face in frustration, trying to dislodge the ghosts that haunt his mind. He knows he’s too drunk to drive home and that was the plan, but he hadn’t planned on his friends’ interference and now preventing him from leaving in his truck. He’s annoyed that his friends picked this moment to show up, gang up on him and spoil his plans for the evening.

“Why are you here, Dan?” he growls again. “What stupid thing do you think you’re saving me from?”

  
Dan leans over and puts his hand on Boaz’s broad, slumped shoulders. He can feel the tension and frustration in them even before Boaz looks up at him with a warning in his eyes. Dan knows Boaz’s moods when he is NOT drunk are unpredictable lately. Yet he doesn’t fear Boaz, despite the fact that Boaz towers over him at 6’2”. Suddenly Dan feels Boaz’s shoulders tremble slightly and hears his breath shudder.

“Come on old friend, let me drive you home. I just got off work and knew you’d be here lamenting our town’s loss of your family. Just like you did last year.”

Without looking at Dan, Boaz shakes his head ‘no’. With a shaky voice he says, “I’m fine, Dan, I’ll just take it slow.” 

  
Suddenly they both hear keys jingling and Amy chuckling. Boaz and Dan look up and over to Amy, who is standing by the old cash register with Boaz’s keys in her hand.

“NOPE. You are NOT driving anywhere, Bo. Did you forget that I have your truck’s keys?” She says, smiling and drops them into the cash register’s spare slot in the drawer then pushes the drawer shut.

Boaz drops his head in his hands again. He is starting to get a headache. He growls, “Damn it Amy!” He HAD forgotten that she made him turn them over when he arrived.

“Bo, don’t be mad at me,” Amy says gently, “Abbie would haunt me forever if I let you drive home drunk and you killed yourself or someone else from her beloved community!” 

  
He understood why she did it, but why did it seem like the world was conspiring against him and his plans for tonight? He just wants the guilt and pain to finally end! He’s tired of feeling empty, hollow and lost.

“Fine!” he growls, “Since the world seems to conspire against me tonight, I guess I have no choice.”

  
Amy shoots Dan a triumphant and grateful look. He nods his sandy brown head to her.

Then looking back to Boaz, he squeezes Bo’s shoulder and says, “Come on, old friend, let’s get you home. I’ll make you some coffee and get you some aspirin for that headache I’m sure you have, and we can talk or just sit and watch the fire in the fireplace.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the chapter, please feel free to leave comments or suggestions for the story or edits that may need attention. Thanks! =)


	3. The Drive Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, you met the leading lady of our story, and the leading man. Now will Bo go with his friends and let Dan drive him home or will he fight him on it? How does Bo meet our leading lady? Read on and find out...

**Chapter 3**   
**THE DRIVE HOME**

  
Boaz goes to stand up and his head feels fuzzy. He is dizzy and tipsy and suddenly his knees buckle under him. Dan catches him and he plops him back down on the bar stool leaning him against the wall and the counter again. He can see Boaz feels like shit.

  
“Woah, there big guy, hang on. Let me get someone to help steady you. Stay put and don’t go anywhere! I’ll be right back.”

He walks over to Amy who is at the cash register helping customers and keeping an eye on Boaz.

“Hey Amy, can you please ring Joe and ask him to come over here? He should still be at the office.”

Amy blushes when Dan mentions Joe and she giggles and nods. Dan chuckles and turns to walk back to Bo.

  
“Isn’t Sophie gonna be mad as a hornet that you aren’t home after work?” Bo asks Dan in a deep, gravelly voice as Dan saunters back towards Bo. 

Bo’s got his head in his hands still, wishing that his head would stop swimming and making him so dizzy.

“Naah, she told me to check on you after my shift ended and said I could stay with you tonight and keep you company. She was going to go hang out with Peg at the hospital for the night. She knows how much you’ve struggled these last couple years… You know they miss you terribly at the hospital and clinic, Bo. The new doctors that took over when you left just aren’t as good as you are at figuring out what’s going on in certain cases. And they take shit x-rays. In too much of a hurry, According to Soph.”

  
Boaz snorts.

“Well, I wasn’t THAT good at figuring out how to save the ones I loved, and I have no clue how to take an x-ray; so how much worse can they be?!? If they are that bad, how is it that this town has anyone left alive in it?”

Dan rolls his eyes and pats Bo on the shoulder.

  
Just then a 6’4” tall, muscular, Deputy Sheriff arrives with his long, brown, wavy locks loose around his shoulders. He has sparkling green eyes filled with mischief and laughter. He is smiling when he sees Amy at the register. He greets her with a wink and wiggle of his scarred eyebrow, which makes her giggle like a schoolgirl and blush bright pink.

  
He laughs and walks over to Dan.

“Hey, is this the Sap you need me to toss out?”

Boaz’s head pops up and his eyes get huge. He’s not sure if he likes this new Deputy Sheriff the town got a few months ago.

Dan laughs and pats Boaz’s shoulder.

“Joe, this is the guy I need help with, but I don’t want you to toss him out. I want you to help me get him into my truck so I can take him home. He’s my best pal, and his name is Boaz. He’s 6’2” and towers over me which is why I need your help. Can you help me take him along to the truck or not?” 

  
Amy laughs, “Dan, if Joe can’t budge Bo, then you called for the wrong back up!”

Dan just rolls his eyes at Amy; Joe laughs heartily, and Boaz groans and puts his head back into his hands. Joe laughs and flexes his arms for Amy while Dan rolls his eyes at Joe and nods to Bo. Joe nods back, and they move to pick up Boaz. Each grabbing an arm, slinging it around their shoulders as Dan says,

“Come on, old man, lets get you home.”

Joe wraps a big, burly arm around Boaz’s back, lifting Bo to his feet and steadies him as Dan gets on the other side of Bo. Dan chuckles to himself thinking they must look hilarious trying to carry Bo with such a height difference between his short frame, Bo’s 6’2” frame and Joe’s 6’4” frame.

  
Joe looks at Dan as if he read Dan’s thoughts.

“I got him, Dan, you go unlock the truck.”

Dan nods and starts to head for the door.

Mame and Amy both catch him though, and Amy hands him Boaz’s keys, saying, “Louie drove it to Max’s Garage knowing Bo would be too drunk to drive it tonight. Max said it can stay there till Bo can come pick it up after he sobers."

Dan looks at the keys and then at the two ladies and says, “Thanks for doing all this. Since Joe’s here now, I think I will have him follow in Bo’s truck. That way we won’t have to make extra trips back and forth.”

  
The ladies nod.

Mame says, “Dan, this is just more than him mourning, I think he’s depressed and maybe suicidal. He hardly said a word all afternoon. He just sat at the counter or in the booth by the window watching it rain and looking at the photo you took of him and Abbie when she was pregnant at the parade. He kept running his fingers along her image and his eyes would well up. He drank a lot, but not quickly, he nursed the drinks like he was trying to make them last." 

  
"I could almost see the wheels in his noggin’ turning. He knows it gets dark earlier now and that the roads would be slick this time of year with that rain and the temp dropping like it does in the evenings…He seemed like he was waiting till he was drunk just enough to drive and then planned to drive out onto the slick roads and do something dumb after it got dark so no one would find him till mornin’. You know how winding those roads are he takes to get to his cabin! It’s dangerous to drive them in weather like this when one’s sober, but he knows it would be deadly to drive it like this when drunk!” Peg informs him.

  
Dan and Amy both nod. Amy suddenly remembers his irritation when she asked for his keys. She mentions it to Dan.

“He seemed really annoyed that I required his keys before serving him any alcohol. Like I was messing up his plans. But he gave them up without much fuss.”

  
Dan rubbed his ginger beard and frowned.

“Hmmm. Thanks, Ladies, for the info.”

Amy nods and says, “Well, I know you two are pretty close, and since you’re the lawman in these here parts, I figured you ought to know. Abbie would NEVER forgive me and would haunt me FOREVER if I let the love of her life hurt or kill himself or anyone else with his drunkenness. She would expect me to put a stop to it if I could.”

Dan laughs, “Yeah, she’d be PISSED if _her_ best friend and _his_ best friend BOTH failed to keep him alive. I just wish we could find a way to help him heal and move on! She wouldn’t want him to stay on this path he’s on right now. It’s killing him. Something needs to snap him out of it and back into the land of the living!!!”

Amy and Mame both nod.

Mame says, “But what will it take to snap him out of this rut he is in?”

  
Dan shakes his head and says, “I wish I knew. If I did, he wouldn’t have spent the last two years hiding in his cabin and drinking himself to death.”

Suddenly they hear Joe holler from the doorway, “You coming Dan? He’s getting heavy!” 

  
“Gotta skedaddle ladies, see you two later. Thanks for the info.” Dan says as he hurries to the open door. “Put Boaz’s food and drink on my tab. I’ll come by tomorrow and pay it off.”

“Will do!” says Mame as she turns to head back to her customers.

“Tell Soph we said ‘HI’.” Says Amy to Dan as he unlocks the passenger door to the truck.

“Joe, put Boaz in; and Bo, NO BARFING in the truck. If you need to puke, tell me so I can pull over and you can open the door to puke!”

Bo gives him an irritated look and growls, “Just because I puked in your truck last year doesn’t mean I will do it again!” 

  
Dan and Joe both chuckle and look at each other knowingly that Dan’s probably the one who’s right.

Dan looks at Bo and says, “Do you have ANY idea HOW LONG it took me to clean this truck out after you puked in it? I JUST got the smell completely gone last month!”

Joe bursts out laughing and Bo glares at him with icy blue eyes and growls as he drops his head into his hand and rubs his temples.

“Yup, this is gonna be a shitty evening and one nasty headache is coming on.” He thinks to himself as Joe closes the door.

Boaz winces at the sound.

“Do you need me to get you a bucket?” Joe teases Boaz through the partially open window. 

  
Boaz Growls and shoots daggers at him with his eyes.

“Oookaaayyy, guess not!” Joe laughs holding up his hands and backs away from the door.

He walks around the truck to talk to Dan; and he sees Abbie head back into the bar to clean up the counter when she sees they got Boaz loaded in the truck ok. He smiles at her and waves, she giggles and waves back as she goes in.

“Damn, I gotta ask her out soon!” He mutters to himself. 

  
Dan heads to the drivers’ door and Joe stops him.

“Do you want me to ride along in case Bo passes out? You won’t be able to move him by yourself into the cabin if he’s out cold!” he asks Dan.

Dan thinks for a minute and then hands Joe the keys for Boaz’s truck.

“I think you should come with but take his truck and follow me to his place. That is, if you don’t have any plans for tonight. It’s about a two-hour drive one way and there’s no telling how long we’ll actually end up staying. We may not get back till morning.”

  
Joe raises an eyebrow and says, “Really? It’s true that he lives THAT far out in the sticks?!? I thought that people were just exaggerating!” 

  
Dan shakes his head and says, “Nope. No exaggeration. You still coming or not?”

  
Joe shrugs, “Yeah, might as well. I got no plans for the evening. Was actually going to ask Amy out, but you had her call me to come help you out with a customer, so I figured I better not ask that right now.”

He looks over at Bo and gestures, “That poor guy, though, he looks absolutely miserable. What’s eatin’ him?”

  
Dan puts his finger to his lips and says, “SHHHH! Lay off him and keep your voice down! I’ll tell you what I know on the way back into town AFTER we see he gets home safely and can manage without problems. OK?”

Joe nods, “Ok.”

“Now go get Bo’s truck, It’s at Max’s garage and it’s blue with wood rails along the bed. He probably has it loaded with stuff he needed. I hope he remembered to put the waxed tarp on it so everything didn’t get wet!” Dan tells Joe.

Joe nods and heads over to the garage a block away. Dan waits with Boaz for Joe to come back with the truck. 

  
“Bo, roll that window up the rest of the way so it doesn’t let in drizzle and rain when we are on the highway.”

Bo nods and fumbles with the handle, but eventually gets it all the way up. He rests his head on the cool glass. Glad for the coldness on his temple.

A few minutes later Joe is back with Bo’s truck and they head out of town.

  
The drive out of town was a quiet one. Boaz’s head was pounding, and he would occasionally moan or grumble, so Dan just turned the radio on to a soft volume and found a classical music station.

“Abbie used to play classical music for me when I had rough days at the hospital and clinic.” Bo mumbled as he stared out the window watching the trees and mountainside rush by.

He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Dan nodded, glanced at him and reaches over to pat his shoulder, then turned his eyes back to the road.

Occasionally he would look at Boaz to make sure he hadn’t passed out. Each time he looked he saw Boaz staring out the window and slightly ahead towards the right side of the road.

  
An hour and a half into the drive, it began raining again, but it was just a light, gentle rain; not the deluge they had earlier in the day. As they come around a curve on the mountain, near to the spot where they will turn off the highway and onto the road leading to Boaz’s gravel road, Boaz lets out a shout.

“STOP!!! Stop the truck! There’s someone back there laying on the shoulder by the mountainside!!!!

  
Dan looks over at Boaz and slows the vehicle down and pulls off to the shoulder. Joe pulls up behind them and jumps out and runs over to Dan’s door.

“What? What’s the matter Dan? Is Boaz ok?” 

  
They both turn and look at Boaz. He is facing the back of the truck and looking out the back window, his eyes are wide open and bloodshot. He tries to get out of the truck but is struggling with the handle. He keeps grabbing the handle for the window instead of the one to open the door in his frantic attempt to escape the truck. He looks at Dan and Joe and they see the worry, desperation and something else…. Fear??? His eyes are almost completely dilated.

“Let me out!!!” he booms at them. “There’s someone back there who needs help!” 

  
“Boaz, calm down!” says Dan as he puts a hand on Boaz’s shoulder gently. “I’ll go check it out with Joe. You stay here. You’re in no shape to be wandering around on a highway at night in your state! Now tell me what did you see? What did the person look like?”

Boaz turns and looks at Dan like he’s nuts.

“WHAT?!?” He thunders, incredulous that Dan would suggest that he, a doctor, not go to someone’s aid. “NO! I’m coming with you both!”

Dan shakes his head.

“Bo, you’re soused (drunk)… do you REALLY think it’s a good idea for you to be attempting to walk along the side of a highway when Joe here had to carry you to the truck an hour and a half ago? Now calm yourself down before you have a stroke or heart attack!!!! We’ll go take a look and if the person needs medical attention, I will send Joe back to get you, ok?”

  
Bo calms down and nods.

“Ok, but HURRY!”

“Tell us what exactly you saw, Bo.” Says Joe calmly.

“I saw a figure wrapped in some kind of light-colored blanket with dark marks on it! It was over by the edge of the shoulder, near the side of the mountain. I saw it moving as we drove past. The edge of the headlight’s beam caught it and I saw movement. It looked like the person was trying to sit up! HURRY! I think the dark spots on the blanket were blood!!!” Boaz cried out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter! tune in next time to find out what happens! Who does Bo see? is the person alive or dead? 
> 
> Don't forget to leave constructive comments and suggestions for the story. also if you picture any actresses when reading this story, please let me know who you picture for the female leads. I don't really know who I'd cast for them other than for Mame.


	4. Found!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what is it that Bo sees? What is it they find? 
> 
> Read on, my friends, to find out!

**Chapter 4**   
**FOUND!!!**

  
Upon hearing Boaz say the person might be bleeding, both of the officers fly from the truck. Dan pulls out his torch (flashlight) and yells to Joe to get his out and start looking for tire tracks and footprints that do not belong to either of them or their vehicles. Boaz is getting agitated again and wants out of the truck. He starts hollering at them and pounding on the glass.

  
Joe hollers over to Dan that they better let Bo out before he breaks the window.

  
“Fine, let him out and help him over here. The blanket does look to have blood on it! I’m going to need his medical expertise on this if the person is going to make it. Hopefully he is sober enough to help.” Dan says to Joe.

  
Joe opens the door just as Dan gets right up to the body and squats down. Dan gasps. What he sees makes his heart do summersaults. 

  
He hollers to Joe to help Boaz over and to grab the camera in the box in the cab of his truck and bring an extra torch. That they are going to need photos. 

  
“Grab the first aid kit too it’s in the box in the bed of the truck.” 

  
Joe nods, then tells Bo to stay in the truck and he'll bring the truck closer to the body, so they don't have to walk as far. Bo grunts, but stops trying to break out of the truck. Joe closes the door, rounds the truck, hops in and turns the trucks around and drives up to where the body is. 

  
He brings the truck with Boaz over first, helps Bo out and brings him, a torch and first aid kit over to the body. Then runs back to the other truck to move it into position on the other side of the body, forming a protective barrier with a truck on each side. Joe had parked Boaz’s truck so that the headlights were shining on the body and a wide area around it, making it a little easier to see.

  
He gets the other things Dan wanted and brings them over. 

  
When Jo helped Bo over to the body, Bo drops to his knees in the wet gravel by the person’s head. A tangled and dirty mane of curly, auburn hair is plastered to the battered and bloody face and head. He gently brushes it away from the face and neck. Both he and Dan are shocked when they see the damage to the face and realize that it is a woman who lays in front of them. 

  
“Get a load of that, Joe! It’s a Dame!” Dan says, surprised. 

  
They see that the right side of her face is black and blue, swollen and has road rash the entire length of her face. The blanket that was once cream or white, is now bloody, muddy and torn. The woman’s body was wrapped in it like the popular breakfast item called “pigs in a blanket” and Dan stood there trying to figure out the best way to unwrap her without moving her too much. He decided he’d rather not cut the blanket as they may need to use it as a stretcher to carry her later on. 

  
Luckily Boaz is already on his knees by hear head, examining it and the neck for a pulse, breathing, and spinal injury. Murmuring words to reassure her, if she could even hear them. 

  
Relieved to discover she was breathing, Boaz says, “She is, by some miracle, still alive! But she has been knocked out cold.” 

  
Dan asks Boaz to step away for a moment so they can get pictures before moving her too much and destroying any more evidence (footprints, tire tracks, etc). Boaz starts to protest, but then sees the look on Dan’s and Joe’s faces. He reluctantly gets up with Joe’s help and backs away out of the halo of light and leans against the mountainside in the dark shadows. 

  
Dan uses the camera and flash to quickly take pictures of the woman and reminds Joe to look for any tire tracks and footprints that aren’t theirs. About 30 yards from the woman’s body he finds a couple yards’ worth of tire tracks. Footprints were also found between the woman and the tire tracks. 

  
“Dan, I’ve got both tire tracks and footprints that are not ours, but both are filled with water and will soon be washed away. There’s no way to tell what kind of vehicle or shoe made them.” 

  
Dan walks over after checking on the woman and signaling Boaz to go to her and do what he can. Dan snaps pictures of the tire tracks and footprints. 

  
“You’re right Joe, there’s no way to tell. We’ll just have to hope she survives and can remember what happened and can tell us what to be looking for.” 

  
He shakes his head, sighs and turns to go back to the woman and Boaz. 

  
“Dan, it looks like she was dumped here from a moving vehicle!” Boaz says as he sees them walking back towards the woman. 

  
He is trying to find the corner of the blanket near her shoulders. They hear a moan as Boaz says this and they look and see her head turning from side to side before Boaz can carefully grab hold of it and stop the movement. 

  
**********

  
“Voices, I can hear voices. Who are they? They don’t sound familiar.” 

  
The woman thinks to herself as she slowly regains consciousness. She decides to keep her eyes closed until she can figure out whether these men are friends or foe. She is wet, shivering and in a LOT of pain. Suddenly she smells beer and feels large, strong, warm, hands gently feeling her bruised neck and face. She flinches at each touch and starts to panic, but then realizes he is looking for a pulse and is trying to see the damage to her face and head under all the mud and blood. He gently runs both hands from her shoulders up her neck to her skull’s base; trying to feel for any vertebrae out of place, and any other injuries she may have there.

  
She vaguely remembers hearing a gasp as someone first knelt down by her head. Was it this person? He gently cups her head and palpates it looking for any wounds and cracked/broken skull bones. He also runs his hands as best as he can through her matted hair checking her scalp for cuts and broken bones.

  
“I don’t feel any vertebrae out of place, and I did find some tender spots on her head as well as several open wounds on the right side of her face. Her cheekbones and eye socket may be broken considering how swollen it is but it’s hard to say right now. I will need Sophie & Peg to take full body x-rays if we can get her back to the hospital alive.” Boaz reports to Dan and Joe. 

  
“I tried to check her pupil dilation, but only her left eye could be opened and that one only partially. I suspect she has a severe concussion judging by the depth of the road rash on her face and the amount of swelling on her head and face. The one pupil didn’t initially respond at first, but just before I let go of the eyelid, I saw it constricting slightly.”  
  
She flinches and moans slightly whenever he’d touch her skin & whenever he finds a tender or painful spot on her head and neck, but she never cries out or opens her eye. 

  
Boaz murmurs encouragement to her that she will be ok now, or that she is safe now and not to worry ‘cuz he’s there and is going to take care of her. But he wasn’t sure how much of it she is actually hearing or comprehending. 

  
She tries not to reveal that she is on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. His voice is soothing, like liquid chocolate, but it reeks of alcohol which sets her on edge.

  
She can feel his warm fingers as he gently feels around her face, trying to figure out what’s broken and what’s just bruised, scraped and scratched. When he opens her left eye and shines a bright light into it, she lets out a louder moan and tries to squeeze her eye shut as piercing pain courses into her head and down through her whole body. She feels him touch around her right eye, but he doesn’t try to open it and shine his light into it. 

  
“Thank God!” she thinks to herself.

  
Again, she thinks, “Who are these men? Are they going to help me or kill me?” 

  
Her thoughts are interrupted when she hears the man who reeked of beer call out to the other two. Then she feels the blanket she was wrapped in being pulled away from her shoulders. The man who reeks of beer had run his hand along the edge of the blanket by her shoulders, looking for the outermost corner edge. 

  
She starts moaning and shaking her head from side to side. She doesn’t want them to see her naked body. 

  
The man stops pulling at the blanket once he finds the corner tucked in near her right shoulder. He quickly and carefully takes hold of her head as soon as she started moving it from side to side. 

  
“No Sweetheart,” he murmurs to her “don’t move your head. We need to unwrap you so I can see what other injuries you have before we can move you and take you to the hospital.” 

  
She hears footsteps crunching the gravel near her and realizes the other two were now standing over her. They squat down and say something to the man holding her head. He says something back to them that she couldn’t make out since he has covered her ears with his hands. 

  
She then feels the blanket she was wrapped in being pulled gently away from her shoulders. 

  
“NONONONONONOOOO… OWWWW!!!!” She thinks, and tries to stay calm but moans again loudly as she feels the edge of the blanket being pulled out from under her body. 

  
They try to be as gentle as they can be, but despite their best efforts, the pain for her is excruciating and she begins to panic and bites her lip. She tastes the metallic tang of blood. 

She squeezes her eye shut and holds her breath trying not to cry out, but she fails. 

  
The ‘beer man’ as she dubbed him, murmurs velvety apologies to her but stays at her head, holding it still, as the other two try to carefully unwrap the blanket. 

  
Somehow, she realizes, she has managed to go from laying on her right side to laying on her back in her struggle to sit up. When and how it happened, she can’t remember. 

  
Suddenly she feels another bolt of searing pain as they move her slightly to pull the bottom edge of the blanket from under her rear end. She lets out a cry of pain and passes out once more.  
  
Boaz growls at the two men to be more careful when he hears her cry out. 

  
She immediately goes limp and his heart sinks. He quickly lets go of her head with one hand and checks for a pulse.   
“Nononononononooo! Don’t you die on me now!” he thinks. 

  
But he finds her pulse, it was still racing and he lets out the breath he doesn’t realize he had been holding. 

  
“Shit she lost consciousness!” Boaz growles at the two men as he takes hold of her head again with the one hand. 

  
“Try not to move her too much! She is in a lot of pain and passed out from it. I NEED her awake if I’m gonna do a decent assessment of her injuries!” 

  
As he sits there holding her head, he nods to the men to continue unwrapping her body. As they quickly worked to unwrap the blanket, he finally looks at the shape of her body.

  
“Is she Pregnant or is she just a large woman?” he ponders. “No, she is pregnant, I’m almost certain!” he muses.

  
“Oh God, if she IS pregnant, PLEASE let the baby be ok!” he prays silently.

He glances down again and looked at her belly, it moves on its own a little bit as if the baby inside has heard his prayer.

He smiles and then looks back at her face, trying to guess her age. 

  
“How old is this Doll?” He wonders.

  
She looks young, but he notices a few silver strands around her hair line on her forehead and temples. It is hard to guess her age, thirty-five, maybe?

  
He feels sorry for her and wonders if her family is missing her. He wonders what her name is and where she is from. 

  
He has never seen her before, and he knows nearly everyone in the area for miles around the valley.

  
“Who the hell would beat up a pregnant broad and then dump her on the side of a mountain in early October in the rain, leaving her there to die alone?!?” he ponders.

  
His blood is boiling now as he realizes that not only one life is in danger but two! He struggles to remain calm and composed.

  
This is hitting him too close to home. 

  
Then the two officers of the law finish unwrapping her body. They all gasp in shock at what they see…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again, everyone, for reading and don't forget to leave comments and suggestions!!!! 
> 
> Tune in next time to find out what they see when the woman is unwrapped from the blanket...   
>  What do you think they find???


	5. Disbelief, Shock, Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the lawmen and Bo find a woman lying on the side of the road. What do they discover when they unwrap her body from the blanket looking for wounds? Will they get her back into the town's hospital in time???

Chapter 5  
DISBELIEF, SHOCK, RAGE

  
Never had any of these men seen such a battered and broken body that was STILL alive. Nothing could’ve prepared them for it. 

  
She was naked, obviously pregnant, covered in bruises (some old, most new), scratches, scars, road rash, broken bones, and her hands were bound in front of her tightly with rope; her hands tucked in between her chin and the top of her breasts. She had road rash along her entire right side from head to toe. Her right shoulder was dislocated, right upper arm and leg badly broken (some bones piercing the skin of the arm and leg). Several boot prints were clearly visible on her belly and side, bruises of hands could be seen around her breasts ,and around her neck were bruises of hands, indicating she had been choked recently. The entire right side of her torso was dark purple most likely from broken ribs. The rope around her hands was so tight that it was cutting into her skin. Her poor wrists were bloody and raw. 

  
They sat there in stunned silence. Shocked at the sight before them. All their faces red with anger and fists clenched or covering their mouths. 

  
Her shivering and moan quickly snapped them out of it and Dan stood, silently indicating he needed to take photos. He quickly took the pictures of her body and the damage inflicted on her that would be used as evidence if they ever catch who did this.

  
Boaz sat there holding her head still, completely in disbelief of what he saw. 

  
Slowly his face contorted from shock to disbelief to anger to rage. He looked up at Dan and Dan nodded. Dan’s face also red and showing anger that anyone would dare do this to a pregnant young woman. 

  
“Well now we have clear boot prints with size and tread established, Joe.” Dan angrily commented, his eyes blazing with fury.

  
Boaz looked over at Joe who had stood up and moved off to the side with his hand over his mouth and eyes as big as saucers, still in shock by what he saw. Joe looked at Boaz and saw he was looking up at him. 

  
“Bo, HOW can she STILL BE ALIVE after enduring all that?!?” Joe asked the question out loud. And then asked the one that they all were thinking… “HOW can ANYONE do THIS to a pregnant Broad?!?” 

  
Both Boaz and Dan look at each other, then the woman and then Joe. Boaz stared at the woman, eyes aflame with anger and hatred because of what she had to endure. 

  
He growls, “I don’t know, but if I ever see him and get my hands on him, I’m gonna need you two to restrain me or I’m gonna kill the bastard with my bare hands the moment I see him!” 

  
Both Dan and Joe looked over at Boaz, shocked to hear him growling and that he said such a thing. They BOTH realize he is NOT JOKING. He is dead serious. And that he is suddenly COMPLETELY sober. 

  
They also saw his whole-body trembling in rage as he desperately tried to control himself as he held the woman’s battered head in his trembling hands.

  
Joe walked over to him, squatted down next to him, and gently placed his hands over Boaz’s on the sides of the woman’s head. 

  
“Here Bo, let me hold her head so you can get up and get some blood flow to your legs.” He said with one eyebrow raised and a slight nod to the side. 

  
Then Boaz understood that Joe was offering to hold her head still so he could get up and vent his anger. 

  
Boaz nodded, slid away and allowed Joe to move into his spot at her head.

Boaz covered the shivering woman with the blanket and then his own coat.

Joe knelt at her head and started to hum an unfamiliar tune which helped to calm her some. 

  
Boaz started pacing back and forth, venting his anger… 

  
“Who the hell would do this?!? Why dump here here? What was the idiot thinking?!? Wait till the townspeople find out! He’ll never survive if they find him! They’ll lynch him for sure!”

  
Dan stopped Boaz gently and in a quiet, determined voice he said as he held Bo’s trembling shoulders, 

  
“They can’t find out, not until this goes to trial. They will only be told that a young Doll was found beaten along the side of a highway. GOT IT?!? We can’t afford to scare them and risk them lynching him IF he is found.” 

  
This seemed to satisfy Boaz for the time being and he calmed down. He walked over to where the first aid kit got left on the edge of the puddle the woman was lying in and grabbed the stethoscope. Grabbing the kit, he dragged it over to the woman’s body, being careful to keep it out of the puddle she was lying in. 

  
He uncovered her chest and warmed the end of the stethoscope before placing it on her chest. As he listened to her heart and labored breathing, he nodded to Dan to cut her wrists free. Which Dan did and placed the rope in a bag for evidence.

  
Boaz heard her heartbeat, which was quicker than it should be, he also listened to her labored breathing and the popping, crackling & grinding sounds of broken ribs rubbing against each other. 

  
As Dan lowered her arm from where it was resting on her chest, she groaned quietly, and they saw that her entire side was a deep purple from her armpit all the way down to her waist. 

  
“She must have broken nearly all her ribs on this side, but how?” He asked Boaz. 

  
Bo covered her up, noting her lips were no longer pink but were starting to get a blue tint and were trembling. 

  
“I suspect she was pushed out of a moving vehicle and landed on that side. She is getting too cold out here. If we don’t move quickly, we could lose her to hypothermia. 

  
We need to get her bones in temporary splints ASAP and get her in the truck and back to town if she is going to make it.” Bo informed them.

  
Dan nodded and went to find wood to splint her bones. Bo quickly moved to her belly, uncovered it, and listened with the stethoscope for a heartbeat. He heard a faint, quick one as well as the woman’s. He’s worried that the baby seemed not to be moving much and wondered how far along she was. 

  
He covered her back up with the blanket, placed his jacket back over her torso and stood up. 

  
Bo nodded to Joe, who continued to hum the unfamiliar tune and held her head still as she squirmed slightly whenever she was touched. 

  
Bo paced a few more times trying to get his “to do” list in his head in order of importance. He walked over to Dan and quietly told him the baby was somehow STILL ALIVE. Dan’s face showed surprise and then relief. 

  
He looked down at the woman in a bit of awe, and thought to himself, “HOW??? How can a Broad endure ALL THIS and still be alive and keep her unborn child alive as well???” 

  
The rain began to pick up once more, it’s coming down a little harder. The woman shivered and moaned as the large, cold drops hit her face as they roll off of the hat of the man who held her head still. 

  
The three men quickly realized they needed to figure out what other injuries she had and get her stabilized for transport. 

  
Dan pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. 

  
“It’s 7:15pm. We need to hurry if we’re gonna get her back before the hospital changes shifts. I want only Sophie and Peggy taking care of her as far as nursing goes, Boaz.” Boaz nodded. 

  
Boaz dropped to his knees next to the woman’s head on her left side so she could see him if she opened her eye. He unwrapped her left arm from the blanket and carefully held her hand. She tried to jerk it away but failed.

  
“Sweetheart, I need to see what other injuries you have, ok? Squeeze my hand if you can hear and understand me,”   
She ever so lightly squeezed his hand. 

  
“Ok, Sweetheart, Dan is going to hold your hand now. He is the Sheriff and he won’t hurt you. I’m a doctor and the man holding your head is the Deputy Sheriff, his name is Joe”. 

  
Bo and Dan stood up and changed spots so Bo was on the right and Dan is on her left. 

  
“We’re all here to help you and make this hurt as little as possible, ok?” She squeezed Dan’s hand and he nodded to Boaz. 

  
“Ok, honey, I’m gonna start with your shoulders and work my way down to your feet.” Again, she squeezed Dan’s hand. 

  
Boaz uncovered her only enough to palpate what he needed to and quickly covered her up either with his coat or the blanket, then moved on to the next area. He continued working his way down her body doing this; stopping to splint broken bones with Dan’s help, and bandaging freely bleeding wounds. 

  
He asked Dan & Joe to make notes mentally in their “memory books” to help him remember the injuries he found and asked Dan to make a copy of the photos for her medical file when they got back to town. 

  
Dan nodded that he would.

.   
Whenever an injury was felt or found, Boaz would say it out loud for the two men to make a mental note. Then he would ask her to hold up how many fingers to rate the pain. 1 - being not too bad, 5 - being worst pain. She did, and nearly every time it’s a 4 or 5. 

  
He’s almost positive that: nearly ALL her ribs were broken on her right side, right shoulder was certainly dislocated, right upper arm was clearly broken, he suspected a broken pelvis, and her right leg was broken in several places, the lower bone broken through the skin.

  
He realized he needed to turn her to her side to check her back for any open wounds. But how to do it without causing further injury or pain was the problem! 

  
He wasn’t as worried about spinal injury as he was at first, not since she could feel everything down to her toes, miraculously, and she could wiggle her toes on her left foot. 

  
“Sweetheart, we need to turn you on your left side so I can quickly check your back for open wounds. I am going to put a neck splint on you so your neck is supported, but Joe will still hold it steady as we turn you ok?” 

  
She squeezed Dan’s hand and he nodded at Boaz. 

  
Bo stood up and ran to the truck, digging around in the emergency bag for a neck splint or something that will work as a substitute one. 

  
Suddenly Dan was there and put a hand on Bo’s shoulder. 

  
“You ok, Bo?” 

  
Boaz sighs when he found the neck brace. 

  
Turning to Dan, he said “No, I’m not. I’m pissed that someone could do this to her. Judging from some of the bruises and scars, the beatings have been going on for some time. She was most likely raped repeatedly too judging from her reactions whenever someone touches her. I can’t be sure though till we get her to the hospital and get her cleaned up. I’m terrified both she and the baby won’t make it.”

  
“Bo, you’re an AMAZING doctor. You have saved MANY lives during your time here. NO ONE in the community blames you for what happened to your wife and daughter. Even if we could’ve gotten them to the hospital, there was no guarantee they would’ve lived. You did everything you could to save them. Now do the same for this woman and her baby. Isn’t that what Abbie would want? You can’t save everyone, BO, you just have to do the best you can with what you’ve got and pray it all works out in the end.”

  
Bo nodded, head lowered and tears threatening to spill. He still had not had a hard cry since losing his wife and child and this situation with the woman was hitting too close to home for him. 

  
“That sounds like what Abbie would say if she were here.” He mumbled.

  
Dan gently grabbed Bo’s shoulder and said, “Bo, look at me.” 

  
Bo raised his head and looked at Dan with such sadness in his deep blue eyes that it surprised Dan. 

  
“Abbie IS here with you right now and will always be… she is right in here…” he said as he puts a hand to Boaz’s heart.   
“… you couldn’t save her and Faith, but maybe you can give this woman and her baby a chance for life if we hurry.

Remember that YOU were the one who first spotter her! Had YOU not seen her, we would have driven right past her and never known she was there till someone found her dead! Do what you can for them. If they live, then rejoice and be happy you were able to save them.”

  
“But Dan,” Boaz said, “What if they don’t live, or we lose the baby? I can’t go through this again so soon.” 

  
“Boaz, whether they live, or die is not up to you, it’s up to the good Lord. Your job is just to do what you can for them to try to keep them alive. The rest is up to them and the Lord. Now come on and let’s get this on her so we can get her loaded up and get out of this blasted rain!”

  
They quickly jogged back over to her. Boaz and Dan carefully put the splint around her neck. 

  
She whimpered and flinched as hands carefully touch her battered face and neck.

They then laid the med kit on her left side and put their jackets between it and her for some cushioning.

The men explained to her how they will turn her and that it will hurt, but that it needed to be done. They aren’t sure how much she comprehended…


	6. Confusion and More Shock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Men begin checking the woman they found for injuries.... how bad are they and will she survive?  
> Read on and find out!

Chapter 6   
CONFUSION AND MORE SHOCK

  
“I’m cold, wet and hurting. Why???” The woman mused when she came to yet again. She heard those same male voices talking again, but they seemed muffled. Why? Then she felt a thumb caress her left cheek and realized someone was holding her head still and had their hands over her ears. Even with her eyes closed she saw flashes of light. “Was that lightning?” she wondered. She waited, but never heard any thunder. She tried to turn her head, but two large hands held her steady. She heard him rumble, “mmn -mmn” as if he was telling her “NO.”

She heard more muffled voices and felt him growl and heard him say that if he sees the person who did this to her that he’s gonna need them to restrain him or he’d kill the guy. She shivered, both from the cold and from his words. His hands were trembling as he held her head. The scent of beer still hovered around his breath. She felt his hands get even warmer as his anger increased. 

“How badly am I hurt? Do I look THAT bad?” She wondered to herself. She shivered again and thought, “Damn, why don’t these idiots see that I’m shivering and cold?”

Suddenly she heard gravel crunching next to her head and felt another pair of large, cold hands touch her face. she hears another man say something to the 'booze man' then the warm hands slid away from underneath the cold ones. The boozy smell left as the ‘booze man’ stood up and moved away. As he did, the other person with the cold hands took his place at her head. She felt his hands cradling her head, and his cold hands were just as big as the first man’s. The cool sensation felt good on her swollen and bruised face. He smelled like cedar and pine, musk and leather. She heard him humming some kind of a melody that was unfamiliar to her. She somehow calmed down and felt a bit safer. She heard more muffled conversations around her. She couldn’t make out what was being said, other than ‘lynching’ and ‘trial’.

She hears the muffled crunching of feet on gravel and feels the blanket being wrapped around her and a warm object smelling of booze, musk and outdoors being placed over her chest and arms. More muffled conversation. The warmth feels good although the blanket is cold and wet. The two combined begin to absorb what little body heat she produces. 

A few moments later, she feels her chest being uncovered and a disc of metal being placed on and moved around on her chest and sides. She can smell the boozey breath of the man who must be some kind of doctor she decided. She feels him cover her back up and then uncovers her belly and places the warm disc on it and moves it after a few pauses. Then her belly is covered back up. “What is he doing?” she wonders, but then suddenly remembers she is pregnant when she feels the baby stir faintly, like a butterfly in her belly. She felt the doctor’s “hmmm” vibrate through the metal disc when it was on her chest and belly as he paused and listened each time. 

After he covers her belly, she heard footsteps in the gravel as he walked away from her a short distance. The cool, large hands on her face move a little bit, distracting her from her thoughts as they brush her matted hair away from her forehead. She hears his humming again and finds it a comforting sound. The melody starts to lull her either to sleep or unconsciousness. She wasn’t sure which one. All of a sudden, she feels large, cold raindrops hit her face and she shivers and moans at the pain it causes. “If only I could get warm and have this pain go away!” she thought. 

Someone is talking again and then they kneel on her right and her left sides. She feels the warm blanket being pulled away. “NOOOO!!! Not again!!!” she thinks. She feels cold air hit her body, causing goose bumps to form on her skin, and a hand grasps her left arm and gently lifts it up.

The boozy man’s velvety voice is talking to her again. She can’t make out what he is saying at first but manages to figure out he is asking if she can hear him. She squeezes his hand a little. Then she hears gravel crunching and feels him place her hand into someone else’s hand that gives her a reassuring light squeeze. She hears his wonderful voice again but can’t make out what he wants. She squeezes the hand anyway. Suddenly someone is pressing gently on her neck and shoulders and she again starts to panic, but the hands don’t linger there and move on to her shoulders and collarbone. She squeezes the hand whenever the pressing hurts her. She manages to comprehend he wants to know how bad the pain is with 5 bring the worst and 1 being a little. She holds up 5 fingers most of the time, and sometimes 4 if it isn’t as bad. 

Whenever he found the painful spots where bones are broken/ dislocated, she would see bright lights and pain shot through her whole body and she would let out a moan. He would splint whatever was broken and repeat the process of press and rate the pain all over again until he had reached her feet. Sometimes he would have to repeat his question of pain rating if the pain was really bad for her because she wouldn’t hear him ask it. When he reached her feet, he asked her to wiggle her toes, due the broken leg, she could only wiggle the ones on her left foot without much discomfort. 

He is talking again. “Oh god, that velvety voice is gonna be the death of me!” She caught he said something about left side and something else about a splint. She couldn’t make out anymore. She just wants the cold and the pain to end. She squeezes the hand that is holding hers. 

A few moments later she feels them put a splint around her neck. The cold hands still carefully hold her head still and he is still humming that tune. She moans from the pain and flinches each time they touch her when they moved her head around to get the splint on, but nothing prepares her for the pain she feels when they turn her on her side. She cries out loudly and loses consciousness. The last thing she remembers hearing before the darkness takes her is all three men in unison saying, “OH…MY…GOD!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading another chapter! More to follow!  
> Leave comments and kudos to let me know how I'm doing! Don't forget to bookmark the story and subscribe to be notified of new chapters when i get them uploaded!


	7. Damages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the woman makes it back to the hospital with the menfolk. Now, what will they discover of the damages she suffered? Will she survive? Will she be able to tell them who did this to her and why?  
> Read on and find out!

Chapter 7   
DAMAGES

“On three, we’ll turn her. I’ll lift the blanket up and you steady her head, Joe, and you keep her from crashing into the med kit, Dan.” The men nod to each other. “Once she is on her side, hold her steady so I can quickly get pictures and a look at her back. Then we’ll turn her back onto her back and wrap her up, carry her to the truck, cover her in blankets and jackets. I already left the tailgate down on the truck. Once she is loaded on the truck, I’ll ride with her back there and we’ll head back to town. Ok, any questions?” Boaz asks. Dan and Joe shake their heads, ‘No’.

“One, Two, Three”

The woman lets out a loud cry as they turned her to her side and she went limp, unconscious from the pain that was caused by moving her. The same time she let out the cry, the three men’s eyes saw her back and they all said, in unison, “OH…MY…GOD!”

Her back had been shredded by some kind of whip from the shoulders all the way down to the butt cheeks. Blood ran freely and they could see dark flakes of something embedded in most of the wounds. Bone was visible in many places.  
All three men are beyond shocked.

“HOW can anyone survive THAT!!!???!!!” Joe finally whispers.

Dan looks up at Bo; who’s face is beet red and his fists are clenched. Dan can see he is grinding his teeth trying to control his temper. He’s beyond pissed, he is LIVID.

Dan lifts the camera to Boaz, snapping him out of his state of shock and anger. Gently he reminds Boaz, “Take pictures, Bo, while I steady her. We are DEFINITELY going to NEED them for the trial! Especially full body ones and close ups.”

Boaz nods and takes the camera. Hands shaking, he takes a moment for some deep breaths so he can try to steady his hands. Blurry pictures aren’t going to do it for this case.

“Make sure you get ones with those dark flecks in the wounds too, and where bone is visible."

He takes pictures quickly and the woman begins to shake uncontrollably from the cold. Hypothermia and shock are beginning to set into her body. 

  
Boaz notices as he picks the blanket back up to wrap around her that it is stained deep crimson where it has rested against her back. He gasps and then pauses with the blanket. Calmly as he can, he says to Joe, “Look where my feet are.”

Joe looks and gasps. Dan comes around to see and almost drops the camera. He takes pictures of the puddle and the blanket since Boaz had handed back the camera to him before picking up the blanket.

The puddle at Boaz’s feet was not just water. It was blood red from all the blood the woman had lost. Joe glances from the puddle to the blanket to her back as Boaz drapes the blanket back over her very carefully. She lets out a whimper and flinches as the blanket makes contact with her back once more. They roll her carefully back onto her back. She cries out again and blacks out once more.

“How long has she been laying here? There’s so much blood on the blanket and in the puddle!” Joe whispers to the other two men.

They shrug, and wonder the same thing, marveling that she is STILL alive after all she had endured.

“It’s a testament to the strength and endurance of this woman.” Dan said in awe.

They quickly get her as bundled up and warm as they can, but her shivering is quickly turning into convulsions. They carefully lift her and carry her to the truck. Dan grabs a thicker blanket and lays it down on the bottom of the truck for cushioning for her shredded back and they place her carefully on top of it. They pile every blanket and spare jacket they can find between the two trucks on top of the woman to try to warm her broken body. 

Once everything and everyone is loaded into the two trucks, they turn the trucks and head back to town as quickly as the slick, wet roads would allow. He pulls out his pocket watch and sees it is 7:35pm. Boaz lays down next to her on her left side and pulls the covers over the two of them trying to lend his body heat to warm her up. He too is cold and wet and as the adrenaline wears off, he also begins to shiver.

“Hold on, Sweetheart, please hold on. Don’t you die on me!” He whispers to her as he rests his head near hers.

They made the 1 ½ -hour trip back in 45 minutes and got to the hospital before the final shift change of the night. Dan stops at the front door to drop Boaz off, who tells him to take her round to the back door and he’ll meet them there with Sophie.   
Boaz runs into the hospital and immediately sees Peggy, Abbie’s old boss, who is a retired nurse and midwife. Surprised, she looks up from the desk where she was volunteering her time to help out since Abbie’s death.

He asks, “Peg, where’s Soph? I need hers and your help right away.”

She could tell by his appearance and tone of voice that this was an emergency. “She’ll be right out. She’s in an exam room with a patient and Henry.” She replies.

When she saw Boaz’s puzzled look, she explained that there was a car accident around supper time and since the Sheriff and Deputy couldn’t be reached, someone had called Henry to handle it since he was the former Sheriff. “He brought me with in case Sophie needed extra help tonight. They are just getting a statement from the crash victim now and would be out soon.” 

“Come help me at the back door then,” Boaz said, “We have no time to waste!” as he was already grabbing a gurney and heading for the back door. He opens the door and wheels the gurney to the edge of the truck’s bed. She is shocked by the bloody and dirty bundle they lift out of the truck’s bed. The four of them carefully unload the bloody bundle with matted auburn hair onto the gurney and wheel it into the empty room nearest the nurse’s station. 

Sophie and Henry come out just as Boaz turns the gurney into the room and they both see him and come running.

“Dan, Joe,” Boaz barks as he sees them standing by the door, “go put the trucks back over at Max’s Garage and leave him a note to call here, if he’s not there when you drop them off. Just tell him we need to keep them there for a day or so and will come get them when we need them and to not worry if they disappear. Henry, you go with them and the three of you can fill each other in as to what’s been going on today.” The men nod and move to leave the hospital.

“Peg, you and Sophie come help me with this woman we found. It looks like we’re ALL going to be having a VERY long night!” They nod and move to follow him into the room.

Dan catches Boaz’s arm at the door to the room and says, “Bo, we need to get out of these wet, dirty clothes. Let Soph and Peg take care of the Dame, while we go change and get cleaned up. Then you can come back and do what you need to do.”

Boaz sighed. “I don’t have anything to change into, Dan.”

“Yes, you do, Bo.” Said Sophie as she paused in the doorway. “… there’s some of Dan’s clothes that should fit you, shirt-wise, and I’m sure Joe will lend you some pants. His are more likely to fit you than Dan’s.” she says with a chuckle.

They all smile at the thought of Bo trying to wear Dan’s too short pants. So, Boaz gives in and turns to follow the men out of the hospital. “It’ll be easier to work if I’m not wet, dirty and cold.” He reasoned. 

Before leaving, he tells Sophie and Peg to start cleaning up the woman’s wounds but try not to move her too much as she has already lost a LOT of blood. He quickly wrote down all the injuries he could remember with Joe and Dan reminding him of the ones he forgot. And Joe mentions the baby was still alive when they found the woman.

Peg nods and takes the list, pats him on the back and says, “Welcome back, Bo, you’ve been greatly missed. Now go get dried off and cleaned up. She will be here when you get back.” He nods and leaves. 

Peg informs the rest of the staff to not mention this woman to anyone for her own safety right now. If anyone other than the Sheriff and Deputy, Boaz and her and Sophie ask about the woman, no information is to be given out, not even if she is in the hospital! They all nodded and said a prayer for the woman and child as Peg walked back to the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! More chapters are coming!  
> Comments and Kudos are welcome! If you'd like to be a beta reader or help me with formatting or editing, let me know! I am new at all this and would appreciate the help!
> 
> Don't forget to bookmark and subscribe to be informed of new chapters being uploaded!   
> Thanks again!!!


	8. Cleaning Up (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the woman and babe made it to the hospital and are getting cleaned up. Bo is sent off to do the same before he is allowed to work on her injuries. Will she be alive when he returns?  
> Read on and find out!

Chapter 8   
CLEANING UP (Part 1)

Both Peg and Sophie were shocked when they unwrapped the still unconscious woman. Her shivering had finally stopped, and she looked terrible.

The first thing they did was take vitals for both momma and baby. They agreed that the woman’s blood pressure was dangerously low. Sophie checked the baby’s heartbeat and started a chart for the baby, while Peg recorded the unconscious woman’s vitals in a new chart for her. Both nurses wondered how far along the woman was, and whether or not the pair would even survive.

Peg said it was the worst attack she has ever seen on a woman in all her years of nursing and midwifing.

They quietly worked to clean up the wounds they could get to without moving her too much. They placed ice packs on her bruises to ease the pain and get the swelling down especially around her face and right ribs, and Peg placed warm water bottles on her torso and feet to try to raise her body temp.

When the Dame had been cleaned up as much as they could do for now, they covered her with warm blankets. 

Sophie stayed at her side while Peg drew blood to run a test to see what her blood type was and if she had Syphillis, knowing Boaz would ask and want to do a transfusion when he saw the woman’s stats. Sophie hooked up an IV of fluids to the woman’s left forearm close to the bandages at the wrist to keep her hydrated.

The woman’s wounds had been cleaned and treated with silver nitrate and honey since their supplies were limited on antiseptics and she had SO many open wounds and was pregnant. 

They waited for Boaz and the lawmen to return before moving her for x-rays and cleaning her back’s injuries. Peg could’ve set the bones but knew it would be safer and easier if they could actually see on the x-rays exactly which way the bones had shifted when they broke. She knew Boaz was the best at bone setting between her and the other staff. She wished Abbie was here but pushed the thought aside.

Peg and Soph did what they could to keep the woman comfortable while they waited for Boaz to return, but she still had not regained consciousness.

Both Peg and Sophie were grateful to Boaz & Abbie for starting this hospital and the clinic. It had saved numerous lives in the community over the last 7 years. A few months ago, a generous, anonymous benefactor had donated funds for an x-ray machine and training for them all! Now the community didn’t have to drive several hours to the next closest hospital for treatment. Though the machines are only a few months old, they’ve been used every week.

Sophie pulled Peg out of her thoughts when she softly asked her, “Peg, how is it that this woman and babe are STILL alive? Look at all these bruises and wounds!”

“I’m not sure, Soph. She is very lucky that the boys found her when they did.” Peg replied as she marveled at this woman lying on the bed. "I wonder where they found her at. She looked like she has been laying in mud and got soaked by the storms that went through today when they brought her in!"

Sophie nods.

“I’m glad we have people in the community who have said they are willing to be blood donors if we need it. Cuz this woman certainly will!” Peg comments.  
Soph smiles and says, “Well, she is a miracle in my book!”

Peg nods. “I hope the men get back soon. I want to get these bones set and her back’s injuries tended to before I run out of steam and she runs out of blood.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus in posting these chapters! I was working on another story and got carried away with it. But now I'm back and posting like a mad woman to get these chapters out. Sorry they are kinda short! lol!
> 
> Don't forget to comment and give kudos if you like the story so far!  
> Bookmark it and subscribe so you are notified when more chapters are posted!  
> Thanks!


	9. Cleaning Up (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The menfolk go to clean up and discuss things. Bo realizes how much he has let himself go. Will he be able to handle all this new strain on his already grieving heart?  
> Read on and find out.

Chapter 9  
“CLEANING UP (PART 2)

  
Boaz, Joe, Henry & Dan all walk back to the trucks. Bo and Joe get into Bo’s truck, and Dan and Henry into the other. The rain had once again turned into a mist. They bring the trucks over to Max’s Garage and leave him the note. Then they decide that Joe will go home and get cleaned up and bring some pants over to Dan’s for Bo to try on. Meanwhile Bo, Dan & Henry would head to Dan’s and Bo & Dan would clean up while Henry filled them in regarding the car accident that happened earlier. 

Dan, Bo and Henry arrive at the house and head inside. “It’s been a LONG TIME since you’ve graced our place with your presence, Bo.” Dan says as he heads to the fireplace. Bo nods and looks around. Not much has changed since he was last there. A sudden ache hits his heart when he realized that the last time he was there was when he and Abbie told them she was expecting. 

Henry plops down on the sofa and watches with his keen blue eyes as Dan looks up at Bo and sees he is lost in thought, staring out into space, not looking at anything in particular. He clears his throat which brings Boaz back to the present. “You ok there, Bo?” Dan gently asks as he grabs some tinder from the box to his left. He tosses it into a pile in the fireplace and adds some larger sticks. 

“Just lost in thought is all. I’ll be ok Dan.” Bo replies as he watches Dan strike a match and light the fire. “Here, I’ll feed the fire while you get cleaned up and changed. Mind if I make some coffee and grab some aspirin? That headache is coming back with a vengeance now that the adrenaline is wearing off.” 

Dan grins, “That hangover finally catching up with you huh, old man?” he teases as he gently punches his friend’s shoulder as he walks past.

Henry chuckles and Bo smirks, “Maybe, but nothing some caffeine, aspirin and food won’t shake.”

Henry chuckles again at their exchange and banter. 

Dan starts up the stairs and says, “I’ll make us some food when I come back down, Bo. Soph made a roast last night and there’s leftovers galore. We can have roast beef sandwiches while we wait for Joe to bring you some pants. I’ll dig around and find you a dry shirt and jacket.

Bo chuckles, “Do you really think your shirts and jackets will fit me, Dan?”

“Better than nothing, old man! Would you rather me call Joe and see if he will lend you some of his?” Dan retorts, causing Henry and Boaz to laugh, which surprises him.

“Well they stand a better chance of fitting than yours might, though I’m not as broad in the shoulders and waist as he is!” 

Dan smiles, “I miss your laughter, Bo. It’s good to hear it once again instead of your growls.”

Bo smirks, looks at Dan and raises an eyebrow. “Go get clean up and dried off, Dan. I’ll be waiting down here for you.” Bo tells him. Dan nods and heads up the stairs.

Boaz walks into the kitchen and makes some coffee and find some aspirin in the bathroom, then walks over to the fireplace and puts some bigger sticks on the fire and some smaller pieces of wood.

Henry watches him. He suggests to Boaz to take his shirts off and hang them on the grate by the fire to dry.

Boaz nods and does so. Henry hands Bo the blanket off the Sofa and Bo thanks him and sits on the floor cross legged in front of the fire after grabbing them both a cup of coffee from the kitchen. They sit in companionable silence watching the fire and after a while Henry’s white-haired head nods as he falls asleep sitting on the sofa. Boaz looks over at him and chuckles.

Dan goes to his and Sophie’s bedroom and gets cleaned up and dried off. He grabs some dry clothing and changes into it. Then he digs through his shirts and finds a short sleeve undershirt that looks like it might fit Bo. He then finds some dress shirts that Sophie bought for him when they first got married and they ended up being too big. For some reason she had kept them in the back of the closet. Now grateful she hadn’t gotten rid of them, he grabs one and brings it down to Boaz. He comes down the stairs 15 minutes later. Entering the living room, he finds Boaz, coffee in hand, sitting on the floor, cross-legged, in front of the fire. He had stripped off his wet shirts and hung them on the grate near the fire to dry. He had a blanket around his shoulders and seemed to be enjoying the warmth of the fire and the coffee. Glancing around Dan sees Henry asleep sitting up on the couch. He chuckles and Boaz turns to see him standing there.

Dan is holding a clean towel and wash cloth, as well as the undershirt and dress shirt. Dan looks at Boaz and notices tear streaks down Boaz’s face. Boaz’s eyes are red-rimmed, and he seems a bit embarrassed at being caught like that.

“It’s ok to cry, Bo. If you need to do it to lighten the burden on your heart and mind, then do so. You can’t keep it in forever and, trust me, you’ll feel a whole lot better once you have yourself a good cry.” 

He gives Boaz a hand and yanks him up off the floor, startling Henry. Dan and Bo chuckle and Dan hands Bo the stuff to get cleaned up and the two shirts. He points Bo towards the second bedroom. “Go wash up and I’ll bring you the pants when Joe gets here. Just set the wet clothes outside the door when you get them off and I’ll hang them up by the fire to dry.”

Bo nods. And starts walking toward the room. He gets inside the room, closes the door and walks towards the bed. He sits on the edge of it after stripping off his wet pants & socks. He wraps the towel around his waist and sighs. He picks up the wet clothes from the floor and plops them on the floor outside the door and then closes it again. 

After closing the door, he crosses the room to the washstand. He looks at himself in the mirror and is stunned to see someone unrecognizable looking back at him. He is so much thinner and haggard. His hair is much longer than it was two years ago, and it’s streaked with more silver strands than he ever had before, his eyes have more wrinkles at the corner and dark circles under the dull blue eyes that are red rimmed. He sees the streaks the tears made through the dirt and blood on his face. His hair is greasy and hanging limp in waves just past his shoulders. It is still dripping water droplets down his chest and back. The droplets tickle as they run down his bare skin. 

“When did I lose SO much weight?” he wonders. “Abbie would be beside herself if she saw me looking like this!” He could see in his mind’s eye the look on her face. Concern etched on it. Her forehead knitted and her bright green eyes wrought with worry. “I’m SO sorry, my love,” he whispers as he leans over the washbasin, head hanging down. “I didn’t mean to do this. I miss you SO much. All I wanted for tonight was to join you and finally have peace. Now it’s all messed up. I don’t know what I’m doing! I feel so lost, My Love!” 

Dejected, he walks over to the rocking chair in the corner and sits down. It lets out a creak as he settles into it. His heart aches for his loss, it aches that his plans for tonight were thwarted, it aches for the pregnant woman he found tonight who was beaten and battered and left to die. Without even realizing it he is crying. Tears are silently streaming down his face and he is powerless to stop them. Soon he is sobbing quietly. His chest heaving from the wracking, wrenching sobs. 

He is exhausted as the tears and heartache run their course. He doesn’t know how long he cried for but as he sits in the rocking chair, he decides to close his eyes for a minute to try to gather himself before getting up to wash, but he never makes it out of the rocking chair….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, folks, here's another short chapter. I'm on a roll today with posting to get caught up after my hiatus from this story. Hope you enjoy them!  
> Comment, Kudos, Subscribe and Bookmark to stay posted and notified when new chapters are updated. Let me know how I'm doing and any suggestions for plot!  
> Thanks!!!!


	10. Cleaning Up (Part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Bo finally had himself a good cry to relieve some of his pent up frustration and stress, then passed out. Joe is filled in on Bo's past, and they all head over to the hospital once Bo is ready.

Chapter 10   
CLEANING UP – (part 3)

A few minutes after Boaz enters the room Dan hears him plop the wet clothes on the floor outside the door. When he hears the door “click” back shut, he finishes his conversation with Henry, who was filling him in on the car accident, and he gets up off the couch and walks over to the door to pick up the wet clothes. He hears Boaz mumbling something through the door as if he was talking to himself… and then he hears the rocking chair creak and knows Boaz sat down in it. He suddenly remembers he had meant to fix that chair. “Oh, well” he thought. But what he heard next made him walk away with an ache in his heart. 

He heard Boaz, FINALLY crying. Henry looks at him with a puzzled look on his face when he sees Dan walking back into the room with a sad, thoughtful expression on his face. “Boaz, ok?” he asks Dan. 

Dan shrugs and lays the wet pants and socks over the grate by the fire. “I don’t know, but I think he’s finally crying, most likely for the first time since the deaths of his wife and daughter.”

“Good!” Henry says. “Maybe finding this woman will be what he needs to snap him out of this rut that his grief has kept him in for so long.”

Dan nods. Then says, “I just hope and pray she and the babe survive. If they don’t, it could very well drive him to his death and we’ll never get him back.”

Henry rubs the stubble on his chin. “Well, I guess we just gotta pray real hard and leave it in the good Lord’s hands don’t we?” Dan nods. 

Just then he hears a knock on the door. (He had called Joe when Boaz went into the room to change and asked him to bring a jacket with the pants. Joe chuckled and agreed.) “How’s he doing?” Joe asks as he kicks off his boots next to Dan’s and Bo’s.

“He’s finally crying.” Dan says quietly.

Joe looks puzzled. “Is that a good thing?” he asks.

“Come in the kitchen with me and Henry and help us make some food for everyone and we’ll tell you his backstory.” Dan quietly replies as he motions for Henry to join them in the kitchen. Henry nods and gets up and shuffles to the kitchen to help.

Forty-five minutes later Dan and Henry finish telling Joe the story of what happened to Bo and his family. "Wow! No wonder he looked so rough and disheveled!" Joe said rubbing his chin.

Dan looks at the clock with a puzzled expression. It says it’s 9:15pm. “It shouldn’t be taking him THIS long to get cleaned up. I’m gonna go check on him. Bring these and the coffee pot and cups out to the table by the fireplace. Joe and Henry nod and got to work. 

Dan walks down the hallway to the room Bo hand entered. He gently knocks on the door. No answer. He knocks again and calls, “Bo, are you ok in there?” No answer. He gets worried and tries the handle and the door opens. It’s dark in the room and it takes a minute for his eyes to adjust. He spots Bo slumped in the rocking chair, with the towel around his waist. Dan’s heart skips a few beats and he quietly says, “Oh no!” 

He quickly moves to his friend’s side and gently grabs his wrist to check for a pulse. He finds one and realizes Bo is just in a really deep sleep. “He didn’t even stir when I touched his wrist!” Dan realized. He lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Boaz stirs and opens his eyes. Startled at first and confused where he was and then recognition on his face shows it registered that he remembered. 

“When you didn’t come out, I figured I’d better check on you, old friend.” Dan explains. “I’ll go get the pants and a jacket that Joe brought for you to try on. Get washed up and dressed now. There’s food waiting. Holler when you’re ready for the pants and jacket or if you need anything else or if the clothes don’t fit.

Bo yawns. “How long was I asleep?” he asks as he rubs his face trying to wake himself up more. “Maybe 15-30 minutes or so. I know for sure when you sat down but have no idea when you fell asleep. But you’ve been in here for about 45 minutes now.”

Boaz’s blue eyes got as big as saucers. “Sophie and Peg are probably wondering when we’re coming back. So you better hurry up. We can eat the sandwiches on the way back.” Dan said as he walked out and closed the door. 

Boaz stood and stretched. Then he walked over to the washstand and got cleaned up. The cold water helped to wake him up and invigorate him. “Dan?” Boaz hollers as he wraps the towel around his waist again and pulls on the white undershirt and light gray dress shirt that Dan had lent him earlier. Dan knocks and comes in, his arms carrying the pants and jacket that Joe had lent him, as well as Boaz’s socks. “Here ya go. Meet us by the front door when you’re ready. We’ll leave the vehicles at Max’s and walk back with you to the hospital if it’s ok with you.” 

Boaz nods and yawns again. He grabs the pants and puts them on and chuckles. “Got a belt?” he says, showing Dan that they are about an inch too big around the waist by pulling the waist band out to the side. Dan chuckles and heads upstairs. He comes back into the room in a few minutes with a belt in hand, hands it to Boaz and then sits on the bed watching Boaz thread it into the belt loops. “Doesn’t look too bad on you. Might have to roll the cuffs up a couple times, but otherwise you look much better.

Did the socks dry enough for you? You can borrow a pair of mine if you need to.”

“No,” Boaz says, “… they’re dry enough. Let’s get going before the girls send out a search party looking for us.” 

Five minutes later the men are leaving Dan’s house after packing up the food to take to the hospital and putting the coffee in a canteen. Dan had put out the fire in the fireplace while Bo, Joe and Henry packed up the food, and then they were off. ‘I packed some sandwiches for Soph and Peg too.” Said Henry. “Brought some lemonade and carrots as well. Hopefully they won’t be too upset it took this long to come back.” The four men laughed and walked to the hospital a block away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Another little chapter uploaded!  
> hope you enjoy it. They will get longer... I promise!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated. Bookmark and subscribe to keep updated on new chapters being uploaded! happy reading!!!


	11. Examination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boaz finally gets to do a more thorough examination of the poor beaten woman. His suspicions are confirmed and they get her all bandaged, casted and stitched up. Will she survive though? Will the baby make it?  
> Read on and find out.

Chapter 11   
EXAMINATION

  
“There you are!” exclaimed Sophie as she came out of the hospital room. “Thought you all got lost! What took you so long? Its 9:45pm!” she laughed. 

Boaz’s face turns pink. “Sorry dear, it’s my fault.” He says. She looked at him and saw something in his eyes that she hadn’t seen in a long time. Not since before Abbie’s death…hope??? release??? she wasn’t sure how to put it into words. He seems more like the Boaz they knew before he lost Abbie and Faith. She nods and then looks at her husband who is smiling. Her stomach suddenly rumbles with hunger and her face goes beet red. 

The men laugh and her husband pulls the picnic basket from behind his back. “We’ve brought a peace offering to make up for our tardiness.” He grins.

“Well, I’m not sure that it’ll be enough. You owe me and Peg a Lemon Pie from the café for this one!” She grins. 

“We got the woman you brought in cleaned up as much as we could and put ice packs on her bruised head and face, and warm water bottles on her torso and feet to try to get her body temp stabilized.” Says Peg as she walks out of the room and into the hallway where everyone was standing by the woman’s hospital door.

“I ran bloodwork to see what blood type she was, and she is type A. She will need several transfusions as she has lost a LOT of blood. We need to run X-rays and get her bones set, Boaz. I can show you how the x-ray machine works. You’ll love it! She is stable right now, but her core temp and BP are still too low for any surgery she may need.” 

Boaz perked up when he heard about the new x-ray machine. He heard they got one but can’t remember when they got it. He is thankful that Peg thought to check the woman’s blood type. He was still unsure about that whole aspect. It was so new, and he was two years out of practice. “I guess I have some catching up to do on new medical discoveries and procedures. You’ll have to help show me and teach me about this stuff, Peg, as you know more about it than I do right now. When did we get an x-ray machine? Aren’t they fairly expensive and unpredictable?” 

Peg smiled and knew he was being honest. It will take him some time to get back into the swing of things once again. She knew he would need her expertise to get caught back up with today’s medicine. “We got it a few months ago. An anonymous donor left us the funds to purchase it and get us trained in it. The earlier machines were unpredictable and rather dangerous, but they have improved the technology now and this one is very safe. You just have to follow the rules for operating it. It’s not too hard.”

“Sophie, will you stay with the young lady while I fill in Boaz on what he’s been missing out on over the last two years?” Peg asks her.  
“Sure, if I can have one of those sandwiches first and maybe a carrot and glass of lemonade. My stomach is trying to eat me from the inside out!” Sophie replies. They all chuckle when they hear her stomach growl again. 

“Ok, I will go sit with her until you finish eating, Sophie. Then we’ll switch. I don’t want to leave her unattended in case she comes to. The last thing we need is for her to start thrashing around and opening up the wounds more.” She says as she glances into the room to check on the patient. 

Over the course of the next half-hour, the two nurses fill in Boaz on what he had missed during his two-year hiatus. 

“Well, it’s 10:30pm. I will have to let you two run the machine and guide me on that aspect. I can help with moving her, setting the bones, and sitting with her. I’ll leave the blood type and that stuff to your better judgment. You said she will need transfusions. Where will we get the blood from?” He asks Peggy as they finish eating. 

“There are several people in the town who have said they were willing to be donors if someone needs it. We’d only take one pint at a time from each of them. I’ve done it for several occasions. Usually surgeries.” She said. Boaz nods. 

“And how do you determine a person’s blood type?” he asks her. 

“I can show you when we get done setting her bones if you like. You want to be the guinea pig and see what your blood type is?” she teases him. 

“Yes, actually.” He replies with a smirk when he sees her surprise. 

“Boaz, what are you planning? I see the water wheel in your head turning. You’re planning something!” Peggy questions him. 

“Let’s just start out by seeing what my blood type is and go from there.” He says, then smirks again and raises an eyebrow at her “But first, she needs a bunch of bones set. So how about you and Soph and I get her ready for these X-ray photographs that you say will help me set those bones better?” He quips, she nods and gets up. 

“I will go let Sophie know you want to do that first.” She leaves and Boaz turns to Henry and the two lawmen who were listening as they ate. 

“Will you guys keep an eye out over the next few days for any new people in town? Ask around and see if anyone has heard anything about any new people coming into the area. Whomever left her on the side of the road might not be too happy if they find out we picked her up. Especially if they wanted her dead. I suspect if that happens, they will come looking for her. We may need to move her to someplace harder for them to find. She is going to need to lay low somewhere that can provide protection until we find the creeps who did this to her.” Bo mentions.

The lawmen nodded and looked at Henry. “Want to come out of retirement for this one?” Dan asks him.   
Henry laughs. “No, I won’t come out of retirement, but I will help out however I can, to keep this poor gal safe.” He replies. 

“Bo, what do you have in mind?” Dan asks. 

“I don’t have time to discuss it right now. I need to get those bones set and her back cleaned and stitched up first. I also need to think this through a little more before I go divulging anything else. For now, just do some sleuthing to see if anyone has heard anything or seen anyone new.” The lawmen all nod and Boaz walks out to go do his doctoring.

He finds Sophie standing in the hallway by the woman’s door, writing the latest vitals in the chart. “How’s the mum and baby?” he quietly asks her. 

“They are stable. But she hasn’t regained consciousness since you brought her in.” she replied. Boaz frowned. “Are you ready to learn to use an x-ray machine?” she asks him. He grins and nods. 

They walk into the dimly lit hospital room and walk over to the bed. The woman looks a bit better now that almost all the blood and dirt on the front of her body has been cleaned. Her bruises were deepening and turning a purplish black he noticed. He grabs a stethoscope and listens to her breathing, concerned about the crackling and popping he had heard earlier from the broken ribs. But she appeared to be breathing fine, shallowly, but fine. 

Peg and Soph show Boaz what all they did. Peg had already started a transfusion of Type A blood someone had donated earlier that evening for the car accident victim. But it turned out the blood wasn’t needed so they used it for this case. He saw they had her on an IV to keep her hydrated. 

“She was quite dehydrated when she arrived, Bo.” Peggy said to him when she saw him looking at the IV. “She must’ve been laying there for quite some time before you found her.” Boaz frowned at that statement. He looks back at the poor beaten woman. 

Boaz was impressed at how much dirt, blood and grime they got off of her. “Great job ladies! Now let’s get those x-rays so I can get these bones set and then take care of her back. I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a very long night for us all!” 

The women nodded. They got everything ready and wheeled the bed down the hall to the X-ray room. Boaz helped them carefully lift her onto the table and made sure she was comfortable. Peggy and Sophie explained to him about the x-rays and how they work with the plates to take a picture of the bones in the body. They told him they don’t recommend using it on pregnant women, but in this case it is needed because of the extent of her injuries, and it can help them see if there is any physical damage to the baby and possibly help them figure out how far along the pregnancy is. They showed him how to work the machine, go behind the protective barrier when taking the actual x-ray, and positioning the patient’s body for each picture. And how to handle the film and switch it all out after each photo is taken. By the end of the half hour x-ray session he was comfortable with how it worked.

Once they got the woman back to her room, it was around 11:15pm. Peg stayed with her while Sophie took Boaz to the developing room and showed him how to develop the films. The two women took turns that evening training Boaz and staying with the pregnant woman, making sure someone is with her at all times. 

Once the films were ready to view, they hung them all up on the light board and took a look. Boaz is blown away by how clearly he can see all the bones. He is just fascinated by it. He shakes his head though at the amount of damage she has taken. It’s as he feared:

Her skull is cracked in a couple places on the right side, her right cheek bone is fractured near the eye socket, the shoulder is dislocated, and 10 out of the 12 ribs on her right side are either broken or cracked. Her upper right humerus (arm bone) is broken and the ulna of the same arm is broken in the middle. The right pelvic bone is separated at the SI joint and is broken in the middle of the bone. Her right femur is broken, and the right fibula is as well. 

Bo looks closer at her belly and shakes his head. The view directly from the front he can clearly see the baby, curled up between the two pelvic bones, and there is damage to the baby’s skull, ribs and an arm. “Aww Shit!” he exclaims an rubs his face.  
He turns away, drops his head and groans.

Sophie looks up at him surprised. “You ok, Bo?” she asks concerned. 

He is rubbing his face and she can tell he is getting upset. “NO, Soph, I’m not ok” he says quietly. “She is lucky that her spine wasn’t broken from the fall. These injuries indicate she was likely wrapped in that blanket with her hands tightly bound, and then dumped out of a vehicle while it was moving down the highway. She must’ve landed on her right side since all of the broken bones and the majority of the road rashes are on that side. She probably had no way to break her fall IF she was conscious.” 

Sophie reaches over and gently rubs his back for a moment. After a few minutes of silence, she says, “Boaz, what about the baby? Will it live?”

Boaz sits down and puts his head in his hands. “See on the middle x-ray Soph, where you can see the baby quite clearly between the pelvic bones?”  
She looks and says, “yes?” 

Boaz continues without looking up, “…see how the baby’s skull is dented in on the one side, several ribs on the same side look broken, and the arm on the same side has a break on the humerus near the shoulder?”   
She looks again and quietly gasps. “She’s gonna lose the baby, isn’t she?” she asks Boaz, with a tremor in her voice. 

He looks up at her with tears running freely down his cheeks. “There’s nothing I can do to save that baby, Soph. If it lives, it most likely will be crippled and mentally damaged. It will have an absolutely miserable life and most likely be in a lot of pain all the time. Losing the baby would be the better option as much as it is going to break everyone’s hearts.” He quietly says to her. 

She walks over and kneels down facing him, tears streaming down her face too. She grabs his hands and holds them. “I know, Boaz. I know it hurts you to have to see another woman lose her baby, knowing there’s nothing you can do to save it. I know you haven’t truly taken the time to grieve for the ones you lost, but just know that you aren’t the first father to lose a child and wife, and you won’t be the last.

She isn’t Abbie, Bo. She needs you to fight for her now that she can’t fight for herself. She has done all she can to cling to life till someone could find her. And YOU found her, but now she is exhausted both from blood loss and all the trauma. She is currently stable, but very weak. These bones need to be set soon, and we still need to take care of her back.” 

He looks at her with tears streaming down his face. “I can’t do this Soph. I just can’t.” Every time I look at her, I see Abbie. I’m a failure of a doctor and she deserves better than what I can do for her.” 

Sophie rubs his back. With her other hand she gently grabs his face, tilting it to look at her blue eyes filled with hope. “Honey, you are NOT a failure unless you give up on her and on yourself. YOU fought to keep your family alive, just because they didn’t survive doesn’t mean you failed. If the good Lord deems it’s our time to go, there is NOTHING YOU or I or anyone else can do to stop that from happening.” 

Tears roll down his cheeks and he closes his eyes in shame, and guilt. “Hon, look at me please,” she says gently as she wipes away his tears. He looks at her again. “There’s no shame in shedding tears for those you’ve loved and lost. It’s ok for men to cry. Just don’t let it and grief and bitterness take over your life, keep you in a rut, and drown your hope. 

God put this pregnant woman on your path… LITERALLY… for a reason and a purpose. You need to help her, Boaz. Dan said earlier as we spoke in the hallway that were it not for you getting sloshed today, and him having to drive you home, and you spotting her on the side of the road, she would still be laying there, cold and in pain or more likely dead by now. 

Don’t you see? God let YOU see her for a reason! She needs you as much as you need her. YOU found her, now you have the choice to make. Are you going to fight for her or are you going to walk away and let her die?” 

Boaz thought about what she said. “I need her? How?” he asks quietly.

“You needed something to snap you out of this rut you have been in for the last two years, Bo. Your guilt and grief have been drowning you. She has snapped you out of that rut. When you arrived with her, you acted like the old Boaz I used to know before you lost Abbie and Faith. You were confident, taking charge, giving orders, and only concerned about her needs. I scarcely say you barely noticed that you were soaked, shivering, covered in her blood and muddy from head to toe. I am glad Dan and I noticed and got you to go get cleaned up and dried off.” 

Boaz smiled, “Yeah, I didn’t notice till you guys mentioned it.” He yawns and stretches. “Thanks, Sophie. You’re right, maybe I do need her as much as she needs me.”

“Boaz, maybe you and her can grieve together and help each other if she does lose this baby. Just remember, everything in life, the good and the bad, happen for a reason. We can’t always know what that reason is, and sometimes we never find out, but perhaps your experience and losses happened so you can help this woman with what she has gone through and will go through with her recovery. 

It’s going to be a long and painful road for her. She needs you, Bo, and I think you need her too.” 

He looks over at Soph, with questioning eyes, and she can see him thinking through what she just said. Finally, he nods, stands, lifts her up back onto her feet and gives her a hug. “Thank you, Soph.” he says quietly. 

“Boaz?” she asks as he lets her go, “Just remember you have lots of people who love you and need you here. Don’t give up when it gets dark. Look for the light to lead you.” she says and smiles. 

He nods & gives her a hug. “Lets go get these bones set so we can clean up her back and finally get some rest.” Boaz says as he gestures to the x-rays. He yawns and looks at his pocket watch. It’s 11:45pm. He puts it back in his pocket then studies the x-rays again quickly making mental notes as to which way he’s going to have to maneuver each bone to get it back in place. Then he shuts off the light board, they put away the films and head for her room. 

At the door to their patient’s room, Sophie stops him, and says, “Welcome back Boaz. I hope you’ll stay with us in the land of the living now.”   
He gives her a look and raises an eyebrow. The corner of his mouth turns up in just the slightest of smirks as he turns and walks into the room. 

They wheel the woman’s bed into the surgical room and spend the next several hours setting bones, casting the woman’s injuries and then came the tricky task of cleaning her back and stitching it back together.

She had woken from her coma the first time Boaz went to set her shoulder and collarbone. She cried out in agony and they had to call for help to hold her down until Peggy could get a shot of Pernocton into her to sedate her so he could set the rest of the bones without her fighting him. 

She had surprised them all with how strong she was despite all the injuries and blood loss. Boaz worried that she may have shifted some of the bones more, but they all set just fine.

Now it was 1 am, she is laying on her left side, propped with pillows in the surgical room so she doesn’t move, and they are cleaning out all the debris that somehow got imbedded in the wounds.   
She had a low grade fever starting to set in and he could feel the heat from it radiating off her back. He was worried about infection, but knew this fever was more likely indicating the start of a miscarriage.   
Looking at the wounds he was cleaning on her upper back, and thinking about how high the infection risk is for this woman, he talked with Peg while they worked and they both decided silver nitrate directly into the wounds and then covered with honey once the stitches were done would be their best option right now, as it wouldn’t harm the baby and they didn’t have a lot of options for fighting infections. 

“Boaz, how did she get this tree bark in her wounds? They are shoved in from two different directions! Some point down towards her butt, and others look like they were shoved in from the other direction! And what is all this dark, sticky stuff?” Peg asks him. He shakes his head. “I have no idea.”   
Sophie, who had been listening as she handed them different instruments and gauze, paused, and said, hang on a minute. Then rushed out of the room. A few minutes later she came back with a little article from a newspaper from about 6 years ago. She showed it to Peggy and Boaz as they worked. 

“I can’t read it and clean out these wounds, Soph.” Boaz said flipping his hair out of his face with a jerk of his head “Can you read it to us while we work?” Soph nods and starts to read.

The article talked about a county in the Northern Dakotas that had found several missing women throughout the county over the course of a couple years. The article said the women had been tied to evergreen trees in shelter belts, then flogged and then raped. They were found dead during the spring and summer months hanging from the trees’ branches by their arms and there was bark and resin from the tree imbedded in their wounds on their backs. 

Both Boaz and Peggy stopped dead in their tracks and looked at the debris they were pulling out. Pine bark, and bits of pitch! “That explains why her back has that sticky substance that won’t come off!” exclaims Peggy. 

“But how does it explain the bark being shoved in from two different directions?” Sophie asks, looking at Boaz and sees his face is red and his hands are clenched in fists. He is staring at the woman’s back. He stands, stares at the wounds, and all he says is, “pushing her against the tree trunk and entering her hard and fast is my guess.” 

“Oh my god!” Exclaims Peggy. 

“What?” Asks Sophie. Boaz looks at Peggy and raises an eyebrow. She leans over and whispers into Sophie’s ear that the person who whipped this poor woman probably pushed her back against the tree trunk after whipping her and then raped her, pushing into her hard and fast. Boaz smirks when Sophie’s face turns beet red from embarassment. He looks back to the poor woman lying unconscious on the table. He starts getting angry.

“How could this creep manage to evade the law for so long and hurt and kill so many women?” he says quietly through gritted teeth. Sophie and Peg look over at him and are almost positive he is forming the picture of what happened to this woman in his head. 

Suddenly he turns and takes a few steps away, takes a couple slow breaths, shakes the images out of his head, and then comes back to his chair and stands there looking at the wounds again. He tilts his head as if he is trying to figure out where a stubborn puzzle piece fits into a puzzle, that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere. Finally, his eyes get wide and he gingerly rolls the woman, so she is more on her belly. He takes her left arm and slowly pulls it out from under her and then up, so her hand is eventually above her head. 

“Now it makes sense! I couldn’t figure out why the stripes from the whipping looked so strange. Look, see how they don’t line up like you’d think they would if someone was whipping that back on the right side. Then look at the left side now that her arm is up like this. The lines straighten out when her arm is raised! See, this gash goes from the top of her shoulder here all the way down to the bottom of her rear!”

Peggy and Sophie’s eyes get as big as saucers once they put the puzzle piece in place. 

“Whomever committed those crimes in that article, most likely is the person we are looking for! Sophie, does the article say if the person was ever found?” Boas asks.   
“No, Boaz, it doesn’t. Do you want me to show it to Dan & Joe?” she says.  
“Yes. And actually, Soph, go get them, I want them to see this. Tell Dan to bring his camera too.” Boaz says. 

She rushes out of the room to call Dan. Boaz sits down and tilts the woman back onto her side, leaving her arm up and he rests her head along it.   
He sighs and starts to clean the wounds again, tears rolling down his cheeks as he does so. Peggy walks over and pats him on the back and carefully pulls his hair out of his face, hooking it behind his ears. “She has been through hell, hasn’t she.” She quietly says. He nods. “So have you, Bo.” 

He nods again, then says. “What I have gone through is nothing compared to what she has had to endure. I thought my pain was so excruciating that I WANTED to die. That was my plan for tonight, Peg.   
But now I am quickly understanding that my pain is nothing compared to hers and yet she WANTS to live. I marvel at the fact that she is STILL clinging to life. Why has she not given up? What is she clinging to? What in her life is making it all worth this?” he says in disbelief as he spreads his hands open indicating all her injuries. 

Pam smiles, and pats his shoulder… “Ahhhh, that’s the amazing strength of a woman’s will. Only she can answer those questions, Bo. If you someday work up the courage to ask her, and she finds the strength and courage to answer them, then take her answers to heart. She reminds me of the old Norse women warriors. Tough as nails they were, stubborn too!”

She smiles goes to the sink and washes her hands. And then sits down next to him and starts cleaning the wounds again. Boaz ponders her words as he works. 

About a half hour later Dan and Joe come into the room with Sophie. Boaz and Pam had just finished getting all the debris out of the wounds, cleaned them and treated them with silver nitrate. It had taken them over two hours of picking debris out and scrubbing the wounds with soapy water to clean them. 

Boaz had begun trying to stitch all the stripes back together. He paused when he saw them come in. “You look exhausted, Bo.” Dan says as he and Joe and Sophie walk around the table and their jaws drop. Boaz nods, but keeps sewing until he runs out of thread. “What did you want to show me, is this it?” he asks Boaz. Bo nods. 

“Did Sophie fill you in on our discovery?” Boaz asks.

“Most of it.” Dan replies.

Boaz stands and stretches. His back popping in several places. He explains to the Sheriffs about the whipping wounds and shows them the difference between the directions when the arm is raised versus when it is lowered.   
Bo told how when Sophie read him the article, it helped him fit the one puzzle piece that had been nagging him since he first saw the wounds. He explained how he thinks she is another victim of this criminal or else someone is mimicking the original criminal from this article. Her hands were most likely tied together and raised above her head prior to being whipped and he explains how he thinks the bark was embedded into her back in two different directions. Dan & Joe’s faces both blush as the image forms in their brains of what this woman endured.

Dan and Joe just stare at Boaz gobsmacked. He asks Dan to contact the authorities from this area the article talked about and see if they will work with him on the case, since this could be the criminal resurfacing in a new state. Dan and Joe agree. They turn to leave, and Dan remembers the pictures Boaz wanted him to take and the ones he wanted printed off for the file. He snaps some pictures of her back showing the difference in the direction of the wounds when the arm is up versus when it’s down. He also snaps pictures of the two piles of debris that Peg and Bo had pulled out of the woman’s back. Then they turn to leave. 

“I will get you copies of all these photos we’ve taken tonight, Bo. Hopefully within the next couple days.”   
Boaz nods, exhausted. “Thanks Dan.”  
“Nice work sleuth Boaz,” Dan says.   
“Don’t thank me, Dan, thank your wife. She remembered reading the article when it first happened and made the connection.” Dan smiles at Sophie and she turns beet red. “My little sleuth.” He says to her and kisses her soundly. She giggles. Boaz chuckles and shakes his head at the two. 

Joe walks over and puts his hand on Boaz’s shoulder. “You doing ok, man? It’s 3:15am and you look exhausted!”   
Boaz looks up at him and shakes his head. “No, I am not ok, but I need to keep going. She needs these all stitched back together before I can take a rest.” 

Joe’s eyes get huge. “Want some company? I can’t sew to save my life, but I can help however you need.”   
Boaz sits down again and looks at all the work he has to do yet and sighs. “Yeah, that would be nice.” 

“Sophie, since you just came in, can you tie up my hair? It’s long enough now that it’s getting in my way. I need it out of my eyes so I can see.” Bo asks her.

She smiles and walks over and stands behind him. She gently pulls his long locks into a low ponytail and secures it with a piece of string from her pocket and chuckles. “Bo, I’m guessing it’s time for you to get a haircut!” 

He laughs, “Yes, but not right now.”

She leaves with Dan and Peg and lets the men get on with their work.

They spend the next two hours talking about their lives, sharing stories and such while Boaz sews up the woman’s back. He has Joe go wash his hands and has him help hold some of the skin in place as he sews, and other times has him unroll and cut off more thread for him whenever he gets close to the end of a piece he is using on the needle. Joe never once complaining or gets queasy from any of it. 

When they are finished, they both sit back and marvel at all the stitching. “How many stitches is that, Bo? It looks like a patchwork quilt!” Joe asks him.   
“I lost count at around 1500” Boaz replies. I just got too tired to count any more. My guess is close to 2500 stitches.” 

Joe’s eyes get huge. “Wow… her poor back and rear end are going to be SO sore when she wakes up. I suppose the scars will be quite visible huh.”   
Boaz nods. “Yeah, though most of them will eventually be covered by her clothing. The ones at the top of her shoulders might be visible though if she has the right kind of top or dress or swimsuit on.” Boaz replies. “And in time, though they will fade.”

It’s now 5:15 am and Peg and Sophie come back in the room to see how things are going. They had left the two men to work two hours ago, letting them get to know each other since Joe was fairly new to the area. “So, you’re done then?” Peg asks Boaz. He nods, stretches and his back pops more. He gets up and moves to wash his hands at the sink. 

Sophie moves over to grab all the bowls, equipment and the bloody and filthy blanket that the woman had been brought wrapped in. It had been tossed to the side and forgotten about once they started cleaning her back.   
“Soph, don’t throw out the debris or the blanket. Dan might need them for evidence if they catch the bastard that did this to her.” Boaz reminds her. 

“I’ll go let him know you’re done and see what he wants me to do with these.” She says.   
“If he wants them, bag them in separate bags for him, but make sure the blanket dries out completely first, so it doesn’t get moldy.” Boaz replies.

She nods and leaves the room with them in hand. 

Peg moves over to admire Boaz’s work. “Boaz, you stitch a fine line! My mother would praise your sewing skills if she could see this amazing job you did!” She rubs his sore and aching shoulders and back as he sits back down. “Now, how about we get you something to eat and drink. You looked dead on your feet standing there.” Peg asks him. 

“No, Peg, I’m not hungry or thirsty right now. Let’s get her back rid of the pine sap if we can and then get it bandaged up so these don’t catch on the bedding. Joe, can you help steady her if we sit her up?” Bo asks as he looks at Joe.

“Sure thing” he says as he popped up onto his feet ready to help however he could. 

Bo smiles, “Thanks man, for all the help today… including hauling my ass to the truck this afternoon.” Bo says with a smirk.

Joe laughs and gives him a friendly slap on the back nearly knocking him over. “Anytime Doc.” They all laugh and move over to the woman. 

Bo and Peg carefully grab ahold of the woman. Bo taking her upper body and Peg taking her legs. “Ok, on three, you swing her legs over the side, Peg, and I’ll lift her into a sitting position. Then you hold her there while we clean off the pine sap and wrap her torso in linen strips and gauze, Joe.” 

They both nod and Boaz counts to three. They get her sitting and she whimpers a little, and Joe steadies her. Her head resting against his one shoulder and her good arm over his other shoulder.   
Boaz and Peg work quickly to get as much pine sap off her back as they can and coat it with honey and get it wrapped and then they carefully lay her back down onto the bed that is waiting next to the table to transport her to her room. 

“Thanks for the help, Joe. Pam and I have a few more things to do here then we’ll see her back to the room.”   
Joe nods. “You’re welcome. I’ll go wait in the waiting room by the nurse’s station. Let me know when you get her settled. Dan asked me to take guard duty on her till sun up. Boaz and Pam look at each other and then at Joe, they nod, and he leaves. 

“What else do you need to do, Boaz? It’s almost 6am. We got her all cleaned and bandaged.” She asks.   
He looks at the woman and then at Pam and sighs. I need to do a prenatal exam and check to see what kind of damage she has from being raped.”   
Pam nods. “Do you want me to stay?” she asks.   
He looks at her with pleading, exhausted blue eyes.   
“Say no more. What do you want me to do?” Peg tells him.

He tells her what his plan is, and she knows instinctively what he needs. He examines the woman’s pregnant belly and listens for the baby’s heartbeat. It is much slower and fainter. He moves the stethoscope all over trying to hear a stronger sound. He sighs and says, “We’re losing the baby, I think. The heartbeat is slow and weak. I will be surprised if it makes it till noon.” He sighs. 

He grabs the utensils that he needs to do a pelvic & vaginal exam. He wants to see if she is dilating at all and how much damage she has taken down there. She is dilated a little bit, but he sees a lot of scarring and bruises along the cervix and vaginal walls. He guesses she is around 7 months pregnant, same as Abbie was when she lost Faith. He shakes his head and marvels at this poor woman. Broken and bloody, and she still fights to live. 

Peg comes over as he finishes up and pats him on the shoulder. He looks up at her and she smiles. “You ok, Bo?” she asks.   
“I’m just exhausted. My heart aches for all she has had to endure. I can’t even possibly imagine what kind of demon tormented her like this. How is she going to mentally recover from such an ordeal?” he sighs, looking down at the floor. 

Peg gives him a side hug and says, “With lots of love, support, patience and kindness. We’ve done all we can to heal her body, Boaz. Now comes the even harder part. Letting her wake up and learn to trust people, especially men, again. And heal her heart.   
She is most likely going to be terrified of men for a while. You need to understand that and remember it. Don’t take her reactions to you personally. Earn her trust, move slowly around her, show her you aren’t like the man or men who did this to her. Protect her, help her to heal her heart. Show her it’s okay to be afraid and cry, show her it’s okay to mourn, but encourage and remind her that there are people who love her and care about her and want her to have the best they can offer to her. That the future will be better than her past has been, and she has lots of people willing to help her start over. 

Be patient, kind and compassionate. I know you have a temper, Bo. Your voice can be as smooth and soothing and soft as velvet or milk chocolate, but it can also be as explosive and terrifying as dynamite.” You don’t want to frighten her with an upset tone or fast movements. That will only cause her to push you or any man away out of fear of being hurt again.

Boaz chuckles. “I’ve never heard my voice described like that before... soft as velvet?” 

Peg chuckles. It’s also been described as ‘panty melting’ by some of the women in town and nurses who used to work here, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

He looks at her in utter disbelief that a woman like her would say such a thing. She just smirks and raises her eyebrow. He busts out laughing and stands to hug her. “Thank you Peg, for making my day.”   
She snickers and hugs him back. 

They turn to look at the woman lying on the bed. He rubs his chin and groans, “God, I hope she makes it. We need her to wake up so we can talk to her. There’s next to nothing for Dan to go off of to solve this case. We need to find who did this to her and arrest him quickly, so he can’t do this to any more women.

I hope she can remember at least a description of what he looks like and if he has accomplices. There is no way he has been on the run for almost a decade and not be seen or caught without the help of others.” 

Peg nods. “All we can do is pray now.” she says and grabs Boaz’s hand. “Let’s get her back to her room so we all can rest. It’s almost 7am.” 

Boaz starts to clean things up in the surgery room quickly and Peg wheels the woman off to her hospital room once more. 

Once she’s situated, Dan and Henry and Joe come over and look into the observation window and watch the woman lying there in a coma. “Peg, honey, come get some rest, you’ve been at it all night and most of the afternoon yesterday.” Henry says.   
“No, I need to stay and help Bo. Where’s Sophie?” She asks.

Henry chuckles, Dan made her get some sleep on a cot in the break room while you and Bo finished up there.”   
Peggy nods, “Then let her sleep. When she wakes up send her in to take over observations and then I’ll go sleep.” 

Henry huffs, but knows he isn’t going to win this battle. “Ok, love, do you need anything before I head out?” she smiles, “Just your prayers for the woman, Boaz and the baby. He thinks this child isn’t going to make it through till noon.” 

Dan, Joe and Henry look at each other stunned. They rub their faces at the news, trying to figure out how to handle it, and worried how it will affect Boaz and the woman once she wakes and finds out she’s lost the child.

“Okay love. Will do.” Henry says. He walks over to her, kisses her on the forehead and grabs her hands. They say a short prayer for this whole situation, and everyone involved, and he gives her one last kiss on the forehead, and he leaves. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? I told you the chapters would start to get a little longer!   
> Hope you enjoyed this one. I know it was a bit gory. sorry. I needed it to establish her strength and will to survive. You'll see!
> 
> Don't forget to comment, give kudos, bookmark the story and subscribe so you will get regular updates when i post more chapters!  
> Thanks!!!!


	12. Exhaustion and Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Bo finally gets rest after stitching up the battered & unconscious woman. The lawmen make plans to notify the surrounding areas to be on the lookout for new guests, and give warning to keep an eye on their women and children.   
> The woman begins to wake and thrash around, causing Soph to have to sedate her again.  
> Peg discovers some sad news and they all have to make plans to deal with the aftermath.

Chapter 12   
EXHAUSTION AND TEARS

  
It’s 7:45am and dawn was just breaking in the valley when Boaz appeared at the break room’s door. Dan & Henry looked up and saw the exhaustion. “They still alive?” Dan asks as he gets up and walks towards Boaz, his arm out to show him to the table. Boaz nods and staggers forward a few steps then starts to fall. Dan catches him and Henry runs over to help. Just as Henry gets Bo’s arm over his shoulder, Bo’s legs completely give out from under him. 

“He’s utterly exhausted.” Henry says to Dan as they half carry, half drag him over to the sofa. “Here Bo, lie down and sleep. We’ll look out for the ladies while you rest.” Henry says as Dan gently pushes Boaz to lie down. Henry lifts Bo’s feet onto the sofa and removes Bo’s boots, placing them on the floor and out of the way. 

Dan tucks a pillow under Boaz’s head and grabs a blanket to cover his friend with. “Rest, Bo. You’re no good to her in this state. Soph is fully rested and can handle her care while you and Peg sleep.”

Bo doesn’t argue, he’s too drained. He closes his eyes and lets sleep claim him for a few hours. A half hour later, Peg comes in looking weary and disheveled.

“You ok, Honey?” Henry asks her as he grabs her and ushers her over to the cot. She laughs and lets him dote on her, removing her shoes and massaging her sore feet.

“I’m exhausted. But she’s all patched up and resting soundly. Remind Boaz when he wakes up that he wanted me to do the blood test on him. I think he is worried the woman might not make it.”   
Dan and Henry exchange worried glances.

“I’m going to sleep now but wake me if anything serious happens.”

The men nod and Henry covers her with a blanket and kisses her forehead, he says, “good morning” as she chuckles and goes to sleep. 

They go stand in the lobby by the nurse’s station/reception desk. Joe had left to go get breakfast from the diner for everyone and they were waiting for him to come back with the food. Sophie joined them briefly to gaze at the beautiful pink, orange and purple sunrise as it peeked out across the valley.

“It’s been a loooong night,” she yawns. “…would you like to see the woman now, Dan? She is sleeping, but you’re welcome to sit with her if you’d like.” Dan nods. “Henry, can you let Joe know where we are when he gets back. And be our lookout?”  
Henry chuckles, “Sure thing, Sheriff. Go see to the gal and I’ll watch for Joe and breakfast!” 

Dan and Sophie laugh and head towards the door to the room. They enter the room that Boaz assigned to the woman. It was near the nurse’s station and there was an observation window in the room’s wall so the nurses at the desk can glance in and check on her if needed. They pause at the door and Dan shakes his head and says quietly, “I can’t believe how exhausted Boaz was! I have NEVER ever seen him work himself till he literally drops like he did this morning.” 

Soph looks at him with concerned eyes, “What do you mean, my Love?”

Dan tells her how Boaz only got a couple steps into the break room before collapsing into his arms and how Henry had to come help him drag Boaz to the sofa. “He could hardly move on his own, Soph! When we sat him down on the sofa, he didn’t move a muscle. I had to push him over to get him to lie down and Henry had to lift his legs and take his boots off for him!”

Sophie smiles a sad smile, “Let me show you why he was SO exhausted, my dear, then you will understand.” She said as she led him into the room. The woman was laying on her left side with pillows completely surrounding her and propping up the broken bones. They had changed the bandages on the woman’s back for something easier to switch out when they changed them for the first time. Now it had a large cotton sheet taped onto her back. 

“Remember the stitching Boaz did? Did you take a close look at it?” she asks him as she carefully peels down one side of the sheet to show him the woman’s back.

“I remember seeing it, but he had only started stitching it and I didn’t take a look at it when it was finished.” He gasps as she pulls the sheet carefully away from the woman’s back and he takes a closer look. He covers his mouth and his eyes are huge as he sees thousands of small, individual stitches holding the skin of her back together. Each one individually knotted and clipped from it’s neighboring stitch. “I need to get a picture of this. Hang on.” He says as he runs out of the room heading for the break room where he left the camera. He quietly grabs it and returns and takes a couple photos.

Disbelief and anger wash over him as he studied the thousands of stitches going from the top of the woman’s shoulders all the way down to the bottom of her butt cheeks. The skin already a dark purple in some spots where the wound had torn the flesh all the way to the bone. 

“How many stitches are there?” he asks his wife.

“Boaz said he lost count at around 1500 but said some of the stitches were below the surface of the skin because he had to stitch a lot of muscles back together too. All together he estimates there’s probably between 2500 – 2700 stitches. Each stitch had to be made, knotted and cut loose before the next stitch could be made. That’s why it took him SO long, and why he is SO exhausted. He had to put the stitches closer together than he normally would because of the sheer amount of damage. Plus, he and Peg debrided the woman’s back for nearly two hours before that just to get it clean!” 

Dan nodded, still in shock. His fists clenched. “He should NEVER have had to do this!” he quietly says. “God, I just want to catch the bastard that did this to her, Soph! She and the babe and all those other women in the Dakotas that he did the same thing to all deserve justice! She especially, has had to endure SO much because she was the only one to survive so far!” 

“They will get their justice, Dan.” Soph calmly says as she covers the woman’s back again. She rubs Dan’s neck and shoulders. “Calm down, Love. You can’t do anything more than pray till either you hear from the Sheriff’s office in the Dakotas or this woman wakes up, whichever comes first. And even if she wakes up, Dan, Peg says she most likely will be absolutely terrified of men for quite a while. You’re going to have to be patient and careful and earn her trust. She also has quite a bad concussion, and Bo says she may not even remember who she is or what happened.” She feels Dan stiffen and then shudder.

“Don’t say that, Love. Pray she at least remembers what he looked like or what the vehicle looked like. Right now all we have is a photo of the boot prints from off her belly. I need a description and the number of people involved and a vehicle description.” 

Suddenly the woman’s heart rate increases, and she begins to moan and thrash, pulling off the Oxygen mask and tries to curl up in a ball. “Oh no!” cries Sophie as she grabs for the needle to inject more of the sedative, Pernocton, into the woman’s arm. “Dan hold her down before she rips out the IV!” Dan grabs the woman’s arms and holds them down. She is fighting him and is trying to loosen her right arm from his grip despite it being broken. He caught it right before she was able to grab the IV in her left arm.

“Hurry Soph!” he says, struggling to hold both her arms down. “She’s strong despite her injuries and all she’s been through!”

Sophie hurries over and injects the Pernocton. It quickly takes effect and calms the woman down. Sophie goes to the door and grabs the chart and notes what happened, the time and the amount of the sedative she gave. She goes back and checks the woman’s and baby’s vitals.

“Where are you, little rascal?” she says to the belly as she moves the stethoscope around. A frown forming when she can’t find a heartbeat for the baby. She moves the stethoscope once more and smiles,   
“Ahhhh, THERE you are, you little rascal! Still fighting to live, huh? You sound like you’re getting pretty worn out tho!” she says with a sad smile on her face. And with that, she walks back to the door and notes both the mom’s and baby’s vitals down in both charts.

Sophie walks back to Dan and whispers, “She shouldn’t have woken up like that. Something’s not right. Can you stay with her while I go get Peggy?” Dan nods.   
Sophie quickly runs out of the room and heads for the break room just down the hall. When she comes in she smells and sees the breakfast that Joe had gotten for everyone. Boaz is passed out on the sofa and Peggy is just waking up. Joe and Henry are standing by the windows admiring the sunrise and the beautifully colored sky and clouds. 

“Morning kiddo!” Henry says when he sees her rush in. He frowns when he sees the look on her face and watches as she rushes over to Peg and whispers in her ear. Peg’s eyes get huge and she struggles to sit up on the cot. He goes over and asks if there’s anything wrong. Peg nods and asks him to help her get her shoes on. He does so and both her and Sophie rush out of the room. Peg suddenly stops and runs back in. “Don’t wake Bo! Let him sleep!” she says when she sees Henry walking over to the sofa. “If we need him, I’ll come get him.” She says. He looks at her, nods and walks back to the window. She turns and leaves.

They make a run for the room and Peg grabs her stethoscope off the filing cabinet at the nurse’s station before heading into the room. Dan is standing by the woman’s head with a worried expression on his face and his hand stroking his beard as he worries about the mom & baby. Pam goes over to the bed and listens to the woman’s heartbeat and breathing. Sophie hands her the charts she had grabbed on their way in and lets her read them. Peg sets them down on the foot end of the bed and then goes back to listen for the baby’s heartbeat. Sophie has to show her where she last heard it, but try as they might, they can’t find it. 

“I think she just lost the baby.” Peg whispers as she moves back to the foot end of the bed where she set the charts, not wanting to risk the mother overhearing her. “I will make a note of the time and that we couldn’t find a heartbeat for the baby. Dan, would you mind stepping out for a few minutes? Sophie and I need to check her for a few things before we can confirm that she has lost the baby for sure. DO NOT wake Boaz! I don’t want him disturbed until he wakes up on his own and is FULLY rested!” Dan nods, and says, “Yes maam!” Peg and Sophie chuckle. 

After Dan leaves, Peg turns to Sophie. “Did you notice if the belly muscles were contracting at all?”

Sophie thinks for a moment. “Now that you mention it, yes, I could feel them contracting under my hands when I was trying to find the baby’s heartbeat. It wasn’t very strong contractions though. I barely felt them.”

Peg nods. She moves to the side of the bed where the woman’s back is facing. She lifts the blankets near the woman’s butt and pulls away the pillows stacked there to give the woman support, so she didn’t roll onto her back. They both sigh when they see blood and uterine lining trickling down from between her legs. She had indeed lost the baby. 

“It must’ve been the cramping that brought her out of the coma…” Sophie quietly said as tears raced down her cheeks.

Pam nodded, wiping away her own tears. “It’s a possibility. Women tell me the pain is excruciating.” She said.   
“Boaz, is going to be upset if we don’t wake him and tell him, Peg.” Sophie comments after a little while.

“What can he do? There’s nothing any of us can do for it now. We just have to help her get the lining and the baby passed out of her body and get her cleaned up the best we can and keep her alive now. Let Boaz rest. He is utterly exhausted and won’t be able to function or think clearly on so little sleep.”

Sophie nods.

“She had a fever earlier, I remember Boaz commenting on how he could feel the heat radiating off of her back as he was cleaning and stitching it. I suspected then that her body was starting the process.” Peg said. 

“He knew she would lose the baby.” Sophie said as they worked to help the woman’s body expel the blood, tissue and the baby.   
Peg looked up surprised, “When did he tell you?” Peg asked.  
“After he saw the x-rays and the amount of damage the baby had taken. He knew then that it wouldn’t survive. And told me.” Sophie shared. “At least the poor little one isn’t hurting anymore.” She sniffled. Peg sighed and nodded. 

They worked in silence until they had gotten as much of the discharge cleaned up as they could. “It most likely will take a few days to get it all out. Ahhh, here’s the little one!” Peg said as it came sliding out. Sophie grimaced. “Poor little guy! Boaz was right, look at his head and arm, both broken like he said they were. And his chest is all bruised where the ribs had broken.” Peg took the little one and wrapped him in a small towel. “I’m going to take him and get him cleaned up. Can you finish cleaning her up and put a pad on her to catch the remaining discharge?” Peg asked. Sophie nodded.

Peg walked out of the woman’s room with tears streaming down her face and the little stillborn baby wrapped in a white towel resting in her arms. She looked down and sighed and pulled the towel over his face. She was heading for the room where they clean up the babies, when Henry sees her and comes walking over.   
“Honey, what’s the matter? Why are you crying?” he asks. His eyes full of concern. 

Peg looks up at his concerned blue eyes, and then looks down into the little bundle in her arms. He reaches over and pulls up the corner of the towel she had draped over the baby’s face. “Awwww, she did lose the baby then. I’m SO sorry honey.” He said as he wrapped his arms around her and lets her weep in his arms. “Was it a boy or a girl?” he gently asked.  
“A boy.” She whispered. 

He nods and takes the corner of the towel and places it back over the baby’s face. “Want me to come with you as you wash him up?” She nods. 

Henry follows her into the room and holds the little one while she gently cleans him up and weighs him and records all the things you normally do when a baby is born. She also made notes about his injuries. “Honey, will you go get Dan and tell him to get his camera and bring him back here. He should see the little guy and take some pictures, both for evidence, for the medical chart and for the mother in case she might want a photo. 

DO NOT say anything to Boaz about it if he is awake. I want to be the one to tell him.” He nods and hands her the little baby then goes to get Dan.

She takes a tiny blue stocking cap and puts it on the little one’s head and wraps his clean little body up in a tiny blue blanket. She figures he was at approximately 26-28 weeks old judging by his size and weight. She walks over to the corner of the room where they had a rocking chair set up. She sits down and begins rocking the baby and cries quietly. Her heart breaking for the mother who won’t know or comprehend she has lost the baby for probably quite some time and will never hold him in her arms.

15 minutes later, Dan and Joe and Henry come into the room where Peg was sitting with the baby. Her tears dried and she is just sitting there, looking at the baby’s face and holding his little hand. They stop just inside the door and she looks up. They immediately see she has been crying because her eyes are red rimmed, and she has tear streaks down her face. 

They come over and squat down to see the tiny baby in her lap who no longer lives. She removes the baby’s hat to show them the dark bruise that had formed where the head injury was and shows them the broken arm and the dark bruise on the chest indicating where the ribs had been broken. 

They all shed tears and Dan’s face is red with anger. “This should NEVER have had to happen! Why wasn’t this bastard caught 6 years ago?!?” he says trying to control his temper. “Now this woman and child have paid the price for the law enforcement’s failure to capture this bastard! I will find this guy and he WILL PAY for all the pain and suffering he has caused! So help me GOD!”

Henry puts a hand on Dan’s shoulder trying to calm him down. “Dan we all feel that way, but it’s out of our hands. What is done, is done. You can’t change the past. Get the information from the lawmen in the Dakotas, and we’ll look through it with you and see if we can figure out what they missed. Maybe we can catch this creep, maybe we can’t. In the meantime, I think you should put an APB out to the surrounding communities to be on the lookout for new visitors to the area and tell the towns’ people to keep an eye on their women and children. Tell them that a woman was beaten and raped here and left for dead on the side of the highway. That’s all they need to know for right now.

Now do you want me to take the pictures of him or are you calmed down enough to do it?” 

Dan hands Henry the camera and Peg gets up and walks back over to the counter where they bathed the little guy. She takes the little tub and puts some towels in the bottom of it. And lays the ruler along one side and takes the little stillborn babe and lays him next to the ruler in the little baby tub. Henry takes a few photos and then they wrap the little one back up in the blanket and put the hat back on him. 

Joe asks Peg if he can hold him while they get things cleaned up and she hands him the little bundle. He looks down at the face and traces the cheek with his finger and marvels at the tiny fingers on the little hand. He looks up when he hears an “awwwwweeee!” from the trio who were looking at him. 

“He was tiny to begin with, but he looks even more so now, Joe, laying there in your big mitts!” Dan teases him.

Joe blushes a bright red. “I’ve never held a baby before and not had the chance to really look at one. Their hands and fingers are SO tiny!” Joe says.   
Peg walks over and tells him that this one was about 6-7 months along and should’ve been in his mother’s tummy for another two to three months before being born. Joe’s eyes get huge. “You mean they have all their arms and legs and fingers and toes this far along?” She chuckles, and says, “They have everything they need to live by the time they are 12 weeks old. The rest of the time they spend in their mother’s bellies they are just growing and their organs and lungs and brain are developing so that when they are born, hopefully around the 9 month mark, their bodies are strong enough to survive outside of their momma’s bellies.” She explains. 

He shakes his head in amazement and touches the baby’s little fist again. “Poor little guy! Sorry you didn’t get the chance to grow and meet your momma!” he said to the little bundle in his hands. “Who’s going to name him since the mom is still out cold? Can we bury him in the cemetery here? I’ll pay for a little coffin for him, if it’s ok.” He asks suddenly. 

Peg squeezes his arm. "Thanks Joe. I’m sure the mom will appreciate it when she gets all healed up. I suppose we’ll have to give him a name so there’s one on the birth and death certificates." Dan and Henry nod.

“Well Joe, since you brought it up, you can name him.” Henry says. 

Joe looked up stunned. “ME? Nnnnname… the little guy?” he stammers. 

Henry chuckles, “Sure, why not?”

Joe walks over to the rocking chair and sits down. “I never thought about baby names. Never dreamed I’d ever hold one, even if it is a stillborn one. Hmmmm… what shall we name you?” he asks the bundle in his hands.  
He rocks back and forth for a few minutes, thinking of all the boy’s names he had ever heard. He runs each one through his mind as he looks at the baby’s face. “How about Jack for his first name and Anthony for his middle name?” Joe finally says. “My best friend was named Jack and he always said it meant, ‘God is gracious” and I had a friend back home named Anthony, his mom always said it meant ‘priceless’.” 

Peg chuckled. “Those are wonderful names for that bundle in your hands, Joe. God was gracious to him and took him home to be with him so he wouldn’t suffer so much here.” Everyone nodded. 

Peg walked over to the counter and wrote ‘Jack Anthony_________’ on the birth and death certificates and the chart. She left enough room for the child’s last name at the end of all three if and when they ever find out the identity of the mother, they will most likely use her last name for his. 

“Well, Dan, I need to go check on Soph, the mother and Bo. Can you handle things for little Jack?” Peg asks. 

He smiles and nods. I’ll take him over to the undertaker’s and have them prepare him and a casket. Come on Joe, bring little Jack with.” 

Peg smiles, "Don’t leave with him just yet tho, I’m sure Boaz will want to see him and examine him to give you an official cause of death… though I do believe it is quite obvious. And Soph will want to see him too and say ‘goodbye’ to him.”   
Dan nods. "We’ll just hang out here then till everyone is ready to let us take him." 

Peg nods and leaves to check on Sophie and the mother, and Boaz. She stops in the break room first to check on Boaz. He had just woken up from the smell of the breakfast food, found it sitting on the table, but no one was around. He was at the coffeemaker with a puzzled look on his face wondering where everyone was. He had just poured a cup of coffee when she walked in. 

“Ahh, Peg, where is everyone?” he asked as he glanced at her walking in the door. “There’s food on the table and no one is around to eat it.” He sat down at the table and looked up at her and finally realized she had been crying. Her eyes still were red rimmed. “Peg, what’s the matter? Did something happen while I was sleeping?” he anxiously asks as he gets up and walks over to her.

She looks up at his face, tears form and roll down her cheeks again and she nods. 

He takes her hand and they go sit on the couch. “Peg, tell me what happened.”

She sighs, and says, “Bo, she lost the baby this morning. It was a little boy. Soph said you had told her he had a head and chest injury and a broken arm according to the x-rays.” 

Boaz isn’t surprised. But it stills saddens him that the little boy didn’t make it and it angered him that the baby was injured because someone beat up the mother and left her for dead. He rubs his face with his hands. “Oh, Peg. Why didn’t you wake me? I wish I could’ve done more for him. He didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle like this. Where is he?” 

She sighs, “I didn’t wake you cuz you needed rest. You were utterly exhausted and collapsed in Dan’s arms. There was nothing you or anyone else could do. What was done, is done. He’s in the nursery where we clean them up after birth. I weighed him and measured him and cleaned him up. Dan took pictures of him for evidence, for the med file and for the mom, if she wants one. Joe wanted to name him since the mother couldn’t.” 

Bo chuckles, “Joe wanted to name him? Really?”

“Yup, and He wants to pay for a casket for the little one and have him buried in the cemetery too. He too felt bad that this little guy was a victim of the crossfire, so to speak. He was fascinated with the little guy’s tiny fingers and hands. You should’ve seen him. He asked to hold him while I cleaned things up in the nursery. He stood there looking at the little guy and then just suggested we name him since the mom couldn’t.   
Henry told him he could since he brought it up. So, Joe named him after two of his friends from back home.” 

Bo was surprised. “Really? What did Joe name him?” he asked Peg.   
“Jack Anthony. I left enough room on the chart and the death certificate and birth certificates for a last name if and when we find out the mother’s identity. I figured she will most likely give him her last name.” 

Boaz nods and rubs his chin. “Jack Anthony, huh. Well I suppose I should check on the mom and make sure she is doing ok. Then go do an official examination of little Jack for the Sheriff’s report. I think it would be best though if he was buried at my place by Abbie and Faith. The creeps might go looking in the cemetery for any new graves and see his and start asking too many questions.” He says and sighs. “How far along do you think she was, Peg?” he asks her, wondering if she guessed what he did. 

“My guess is between 6-7 months.” She replied. 

Boaz rubs his face, “So about the same as Abbie.” He sighs heavily and shakes his head. Peg nods and places her hand on his. 

“I know, Bo. You don’t have to do the exam and report, I can have another doctor do it if it’s too upsetting for you yet.” Peg tells him.  
He pats her hand with his free one. “Thanks Peg, but I need to do it. I’m the treating Doctor for them. I should be the one to do it. She nods. Boaz stands and stretches and yawns. 

“Just let me have a bite to eat and some coffee to wake me up and I’ll be in to check on the mom. Give me about 15 minutes to eat and get freshened up.” She stands and nods and gives him a hug.  
“We’ll get through this all together as a team, ok?”

He nods and she heads for the door. “See you in 15.” she says and heads off to the woman’s room to check on her and Sophie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for continuing to read my story!   
> Here is another longer chapter.  
> And the plot thickens.... will they be able to catch the bastard(s) who beat and raped the poor woman???  
> More chapters coming soon!


	13. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The medical team treating the beaten up woman have to decide on what to do with the still born baby. Peg makes a connection to the woman and a several year old unsolved case from ND her husband had mentioned when he was sheriff. Is this the same woman who disappeared? Will the woman be able to remember what happened?   
> Read on and find out!

Chapter 13   
AFTERMATH 

Peg walks into the room after checking the woman’s chart at the door for anything new. “How’s she doing?” she quietly asks Sophie as she walks in. “She is somewhat stable. Hasn’t woken up any more since losing the little one.”   
Peg nods. She walks to the side of the bed and puts on her stethoscope. She listens to the woman’s breathing. Then takes her temp. It’s still elevated, but not as high as before. She checks her blood pressure, which is low again now that she is losing blood from the miscarriage. “She’s going to need another transfusion. At least a couple of pints. Her BP is low again.”   
Sophie nods and goes to get the chart. She makes a note of it. 

“I’m worried about her breathing, Soph. Her lungs are starting to sound congested. Here, come listen.” Sophie gets up and walks over and puts on Peg’s stethoscope as Peg holds the end in place. “Hear how it crackles a little bit, but it’s also got a gurgle sound too that kind of muffles the crackling?” Peg asks Sophie.   
Sophie nods as she takes off the earpieces.   
“They are starting to get congested. The crackling is her broken ribs rubbing together each time she takes a breath, but it was clearer and easier to hear the last time I listened to her. It’s more muffled and gurgles now. I hope she isn’t getting pneumonia.” Peg explains.   
“That’ll make it harder for her to breathe.” Sophie says. 

Peg nods. “Soph, why don’t you have the Oxygen mask on her? I thought we put it on her when we brought her in here.” Peg asks.   
“Oh my gosh!” Sophie exclaims! “That’s why she ripped it off so quickly when she came to!” 

“Keep in mind, Soph, that she was choked. See the bruises in the shape of a handprint on both sides of her neck? If she was having trouble breathing cuz her lungs are getting congested, she may have thought the mask was someone’s hand over her mouth trying to suffocate her instead of the mask trying to help her.” Peg explained. 

“And don’t forget that just because she is sedated, don’t think she can’t hear our conversations. Because she CAN. How close was Dan standing to her when you two were talking?” Peg says.   
“We were standing at the side of the bed!” Sophie says, ashamed.   
“What were you two talking about before she came to?” Peg asks. 

Just then, Dan comments from the doorway, “We were talking about how I want to catch the bastard that did this to her and the baby and that I hope and pray that she can remember at least a description of the guy and vehicle he drives and how many people did this.”

Sophie and Peg both jump at the sound of his voice. “Keep your voice down, Dan!” Peg scolds him.  
“She CAN hear what’s going on around her even though she is sedated. Let’s keep any conversations of that nature from you males, outside of this room. I suspect she is going to be terrified of men in general for a while now and hearing male voices in her room isn’t going to be the best thing for her right now. Ok?” 

He nods, “Yes, Maam!” he says. Her eyes narrow. “Did you just ‘maam” me?” she says. He grins and says, “yup” and salutes her then turns to leave for the break room and breakfast now that he hears Boaz’s, Joe’s and Henry’s voices in the hallway.   
“Boaz must be done with the little one.” Peg says to Sophie. “Why don’t you go see them and say goodbye to the little tyke before they take him to the undertaker to be fitted for the coffin.” Sophie nods. Just then Sophie’s stomach growls loudly. “I’m so hungry! When do we get breakfast, Peg?” 

Peggy smiles and tells her that Joe brought breakfast for everyone and it’s in the breakroom. “Go say goodbye to the baby and then get some food. Come back in here when you’re done eating. I will stay with her till you’re done then I need a few more hours of uninterrupted sleep, ok?” she says to Sophie. 

Soph nods and almost runs out of the room. Peg chuckles and looks back over to the woman. She brushes a few strands of the unruly auburn hair away from the woman’s face and replaces the oxygen mask. She adjusts the bed a little bit, so the woman is more elevated at the head end. 

Peg looks at the woman’s face and it is pink from the slight fever she still has. Peg walks over to the cabinet and digs around for a washcloth and a comb. She finds both and walks to the washstand and gets the washcloth wet with some cool water and fills a small basin. She carries them over to the side table by the bed. Then she places the cool washcloth gently on the woman’s forehead. She quietly pulls a chair over to the woman’s head end of the bed and begins combing the woman’s hair after she pulls it out from behind the woman’s head. She starts at the bottom strands and works her way up to the forehead. Carefully turning the head to gently move strands that were trapped under the head and being careful not to tug or scrape the scalp with the teeth of the comb. She is lost in thought when she hears someone clearing their throat. 

She looks up and sees Boaz standing there in the doorway watching her. She motions for him to come in, but to be quiet. He comes in, checks the woman’s vitals, listens to her breathing and heartbeat, then grabs a chair and quietly sits down next to her and Peg.

“How’s she holding up now that she’s miscarried? Has she woken anymore?” He whispers to Peg.   
“She’s going to need another transfusion now that she is bleeding from the miscarriage. But other than that, she is stable, aside from her lungs getting congested. She hasn’t woken up since the miscarriage tho.” She replies in a whisper.

“Bo, you ok?” she quietly asks him. He nods. “Did the little one’s exam go ok?” she asks. He nods again and rubs his chin. “What’s the matter, Bo?” 

“Dan, Joe, Henry and I went back and looked at the one x-ray of her where I could see the baby clearly.” He said really quietly. “Dan had gotten one set of the pictures developed somehow and had brought them over for me to have. I pulled out the ones of her belly and the full body ones he took from the front. I held them up to the X-ray and Joe noticed that the one boot print that was the darkest, lined up with the baby’s injuries. And now, on top of all that, her lungs are starting to get congested. I’m just concerned for her.” Bo whispers just loud enough for Peg to hear, but not loud enough for the mother to hear. Peg stops combing and watched as Boaz got up and walked over to the washstand and poured cold water over his hands and splashed it on his face. 

“Bo, did Dan take the little one to the Undertaker?” She asked quietly. Bo nods.   
“Did Sophie see him before they left so she could say goodbye to the little one?” Bo nods again.

She looks back at the woman and begins fiddling with the woman’s auburn hair again. Suddenly she remembers something that had been nagging her since she first saw the woman.

“Bo, dear, how tall is this young lady?” she asks him quietly.

Bo dries his hands and face on a towel, tosses it in the hamper and looks at her with a confused look.

“I don’t know, Sophie took her height and estimated weight. Let me go look.” He says quietly, he then walks over to the door and grabs the chart. He stands in the doorway facing out into the hallway where there was more light to see with. He finds the info and puts the chart back in its holder then walks back over and sits next to Peg, who had resumed combing out the woman’s hair. “She’s 5’6”, Estimated weight of 155#. Why do you ask?” he says quietly. 

Peg looks up for a moment and pauses brushing the hair.   
“Well, I seem to remember hearing Henry talk about a young woman who vanished off a farm in North Dakota several years ago. She was driving tractors or combines or something during the fall harvest. Apparently, the machine broke down and she sent the farm help to go back to the barn to find the tools and parts to fix it. She was 4 months pregnant at the time. 

When the farm hands got back, she was nowhere to be found. But there was evidence of a struggle and someone being dragged through the field up to the road. Tire tracks lead away from the farm field and headed west, which is why the authorities contacted all the Sheriffs west and south of both the farm and states west and south of the Dakotas. Henry had been contacted by a Sheriff from there who was handling the case and was a friend of his. He was asked to keep a lookout for the missing woman. She was 5’6”, hazel eyes, auburn hair and 4-6 months pregnant. 

Bo looks confused. “And what does that have to do with this woman?” He whispers to her.  
“Bo, this woman matches that description and the woman was never found!” she quietly explained. “What color were her eyes? Did you get a good look at them?” She asked him. He looks at the woman and then looks at Peg. And shakes his head in utter disbelief. 

“I’m not sure what color her eyes are, Peg. I didn’t get a good look at them. The one is completely swollen shut and the other would only open about halfway. I was more concerned with whether the pupils dilated than what color her eyes were at the time.” He stated. “Hang on a minute, let me check something.” 

He got up and went back to the chart. “Sophie apparently had seen her eye color when she had woken up and struggled with them when she had started to miscarry. She had noted the color… they are hazel.” He rubbed his face and shook his head as he put the chart back in it’s holder once again. 

He turned and walked back to Peg. “Why do you think this might be the woman who disappeared from ND several years ago, other than the fact she fits the description, excluding the pregnancy timeframe?” he questioned.   
“I’m not sure, honey, just the hunch of an old nurse who’s married to the old sheriff who had 30+ years of service to this community. We may not be able to get a positive I.D. if she was beaten this bad, she may not remember WHO she is, Bo.” 

Boaz stood there, looking between the woman and Peg. His heart suddenly pounding, with a sudden chill, he realized she may hold the key to more than one missing persons/ murder case, and they all seem to point to ND!   
Could she REALLY be the woman from ND who was kidnapped YEARS ago? Where has she been all this time? With her captor/captors? Where is the baby that she was pregnant with when she disappeared? Did she just NOW manage to escape them? Is THIS why she is SO beaten up? They wanted to kill her because she knew too much/ seen too much? Cuz she could identify them? He felt overwhelmed suddenly with too many questions and not enough answers. 

“I need to go talk to Dan, Henry and Joe. Update them on her condition and tell them about what you just said. If what you say is true, then she could be in GREAT danger here since this will be the FIRST place they look for her when they realize she isn’t where they dumped her! Let me know immediately if she regains consciousness or if anything changes.” He tells Peggy. 

She nods. “I will tell Sophie, as she will be taking over as soon as she finishes eating breakfast.” He nods and heads out to find the lawmen.

“OH, Boaz?” Peg calls out just loud enough to get his attention, “Would you please tell Sophie I will be needing her soon to come help me wash this young lady’s hair? It’s almost combed out, and I think it will help her feel better once she wakes up. My back isn’t what it used to be and it’s not going to let me bend over her AND wash her hair while holding her head.” 

“Sure thing Peg.” Boaz smiles, “Thanks for staying and helping with this! I couldn’t have done it without your help! Let’s keep this woman sedated for one more day to give her body a rest after all she has gone through. OK?”

She smiles, nods at him and goes back to combing out the last of the woman’s hair.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading another chapter of my story!  
> More chapters are in the works and will be uploaded soon!
> 
> Don't forget to bookmark the story, subscribe to my pseudonym, so you get updates when I add chapters, and I am always happy to see kudos and suggestions in the comment box! Still looking for beta readers!!! If interested, let me know!
> 
> Thanks again and happy reading!


	14. Waiting and Researching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the battered woman's wounds have been tended to, but she hasn't woken up enough to find out who she is.   
> Everyone has to just sit and wait to see if she will remember anything that will be able to help them find the bastards who did this to her.  
> Will she remember???  
>  In the mean time, Bo decides to inquire with the sheriffs about the two cases that his nurses mentioned to see if there is any connection to this woman and the cases.  
> He gets Henry to bring the old case file of the missing ND farm woman over and gets him to read it to them. They quickly realize that the missing woman, Ruth Turner, may be their battered woman!  
> IS she the woman? Will she remember what happened and who she is???  
> Read on and find out!

Chapter 14   
WAITING AND RESEARCHING   
  


Boaz came walking into the break room looking really concerned. He had his hand to his chin and was playing with his beard. “Come, sit and have a rest and some coffee, Bo. You look tired and concerned about something or someone.” Henry said as he turns from the window. 

“Thanks Henry!” Boaz said as he sat and took the cup of coffee that Henry held out to him.

“So, how is the young lady doing that we brought in last night?” Joe asked him.

“Has she woken up again?” Dan asked. "Can I talk with her yet?"

Boaz chuckled at the rapid-fire questions he was being asked. He looked at the three lawmen. 

“She is as stable as we can make her right now. I’m having Peg keep her in a drug-induced coma for a little longer just to let her poor body rest, heal and reset. She has had too many shocks to her system and if we aren’t careful, we could still lose her.” He explained to the men.

“How long will you keep her in a coma, Bo?” Dan asks, “I need to talk to her and see if she remembers anything. The longer we wait the smaller the chance of finding the person(s) who did this to her!”   
“I know, Dan. It’s a waiting game for us right now. But Peg mentioned something, and I think it will give all three of you enough to do till she wakes.” Boaz replied and sipped his coffee pausing to judge their reactions. 

“What is it Peg said, Bo?” Jo anxiously asked as he started bobbing his foot up and down impatiently.   
“Henry, did you get a look at the woman we brought in?” Bo asks him.   
“Not really, why?” Henry says.   
Boaz stands and places his empty cup in the sink after rinsing it out. The three lawmen watch, and finally Joe asks, “Boaz, what’s going on?”   
Bo, chuckles, and says, “Follow me.” 

He leads them over to the observation window. “Henry, come with me just inside the door, you two stay here.” He and Henry walk into the dimly lit room.

Sophie is helping Peg wash the woman’s auburn hair, and they have an overhead light on a low setting so they could see what they were doing better. They look up and nod as the two men walk in. Peg puts her index finger towards her mouth indicating for them to be quiet. Boaz nods and indicates to them to continue. He and Henry stay near the door so they can talk quietly without the unconscious woman hearing what they are saying. 

“Henry, do you remember when your Sheriff friend from ND contacted you and asked you to keep an eye out for a missing pregnant woman a few years ago?” Henry looks at him and then thinks for a few minutes.   
“Vaguely. Why? What does this have to do with this woman?” He asks. 

Bo chuckles and asks, “Henry, do you remember the description of the woman you were given?” Henry thinks and says, “Not really. But I could go get the file if you want to see it.”   
Bo grabs the woman’s chart from just outside the door. Then turns to Henry again. “You may want to do that, but I’m not the one who will be needing it.” He hints. “Go over to her quietly and take a good look at her. Then quietly ask your wife to give you the description of the missing ND woman if she remembers it. Then come back over here once she does.” 

Henry looks confused but does as Bo says. He stops at the foot of the bed and looks at the woman lying there, then Henry walks over to Peg. Bo chuckles as Peg smacks Henry upside the head playfully when he whispers in her ear asking for the description. She whispers it in his ear and his eyes open wide. He walks to the foot end of the bed again and spends a couple moments carefully looking at the battered woman.   
Boaz supposes that he is trying to picture her without all the road rash and bruising on her face. Sophie and Peg are rinsing out the woman’s hair and Sophie towel dries it carefully. Peg begins carefully combing the woman’s unruly auburn curls again. The auburn hair shines now that it’s clean, and almost looks like a reddish halo about her head against the stark, white pillowcase. He sees Henry thoughtfully tugging on his beard and then Henry turns and comes back over to Boaz.

“WOW. I never thought that case would be solved! But it appears she matches the description exactly. Well, except for the pregnancy timeframe. I just hope she can remember what happened and who she is.” He quietly said to Boaz. 

Boaz noted in her chart that she MAY be the missing person from the ND case from a few years ago.

He looked at her vitals and noticed how low her BP still was.

Soph and Peg were cleaning up, so the two men stood there and waited for them to finish. Once the women were done, Peg walked towards them and Soph sat down by the woman’s side to do her observations.

“Bo,” Peg said as she linked her arm in her husband’s. “…she is going to need another transfusion soon and we are out of her blood type.” She said as they all congregated in the hallway by the nurse’s station.   
“I wanted to talk to you about that.” Said Bo. “Can you test mine before you go lay down?” He asks her.

She quirks an eyebrow up and asks, “Bo, what are you up to? What are you thinking?”   
He gives her a mischievous smirk and cocks his eyebrow. “I just want to see how you do it and learn what mine is.” He says.   
“Uh, huh… riiiight!” she says knowing that is not the entire truth. “And then what are you going to do, give her some of your blood if it’s the same type as hers?” 

He winks. He knew she would catch on eventually. She knew him almost as well as Abbie did. She smiles and grabs his arm. “Come on, big guy. Let’s go get your blood drawn.” 

The other three men look at Bo and then Peg and then each other. They all nod. “Wait, what’s going on, can you test ours too?” Joe says.   
Bo and Peg turn, surprised. The three men are looking at them, nodding. Joe says, “If she needs blood and you’re out, if we are a match, let us donate it since we are already here. That way you don’t have to waste time hunting for someone who is her blood type!”   
She rolls her eyes and laughs. “Ok then, follow me, you guys.”

Once they get to the lab, Peg says, “Ok, who’s going first so I can show Bo how this is done?” The four men look at each other and shrug. “Well SOMEONE has to go first! You figure it out or I choose! Make it snappy, I have an appointment I’m late for with that cot!” Peg said. 

The men look at each other and laugh. “I’ll go first and get it over with.” Dan spoke up. He moved over to the chair and she tells him to roll up his sleeve as high as he can get it. He does so and she wrapped a tourniquet around his bicep. She grabbed the needle and finds the vein she wanted. In goes the needle and Dan flinches as the vile begins to fill. 

“Not much for needles, Dan?” Bo teased. Dan shot him a look that made him laugh. “Aw, come on Dan, it’s not THAT bad.” Bo said as Dan flinched again when Peg pulled the tourniquet off and pulled the needle out. She then put a cotton bud on the spot where the needle pierced the skin, grabbed a clean bandage and wrapped it around his elbow.

“No offense, Peg, but I HATE needles!” Dan says.   
Peggy laughed and shook her head. She took a label and wrote his name and date on it and then stuck it to the vile of his blood and set it aside for the moment.

“Next!” she says. Joe stepped up with his sleeve already rolled up as Dan got up and moved out of the way. Joe plopped down on the chair and smirked. She put the tourniquet on his arm and repeated the process all over again. Joe grinned and was fascinated by the blood filling the vial that was attached to the needle. It didn’t seem to faze him in the slightest. He watched as Peg pulled off the tourniquet and pulled out the needle. She handed him a cotton nub and he put it on the spot where a little drop of blood had appeared after the needle had come out. She wraps his elbow with another strip of cloth and boots him from the chair too. Peg labeled his vial of blood, and then says, “Next?” 

Bo and Henry look at each other and Bo shrugs. Henry gives him a chuckle as Bo moved over to the chair while rolling up his sleeve. Peg repeats the whole process again. Joe watches in fascination and finally asks them what the tourniquet is for. Bo smiled and explained it’s use and why it’s removed before the needle is pulled out. Joe nodded. Peg finished his blood draw, gives him a cotton nub and wraps his arm too, then boots him from the chair and labels his vile of blood. 

Henry then sits down in the chair with his sleeve rolled up and Peg starts the process once more. When she is done, she labels his vile and then takes the 4 vials and walks with Boaz over to show him how they run the testing to determine the blood types. Joe asks if he can watch and they both chuckle and Peg nodded.

“Ok. So, if I understand this correctly, Dan has type B blood, I have type A and so does Joe, and Henry has type C (type O). Is that correct, Peg?” Boaz says.

She nods.

“And none of us have Syphilis or Rubella” He states.  
She says, “That’s correct, Bo.”

He then asks, “Did you check the woman’s blood like this for those diseases too? And she is clear of them?” She nods again. He gives her a huge grin. “Great then my plan should work.”   
She turns with her hands on her hips, and says, “And that is???” 

He smiles. “I’ll donate a pint and Joe can donate one. That should hold her for a while.”   
Peg chuckles and asks Joe, “You ok with this?”   
He nods. “Sure.” 

She thinks for a minute. “Have you had any alcohol in the last 48 hours or so, Joe?” He shakes his head ‘no’.   
“Ok. Then I will take and use Joe’s first.” He grins. 

“What?!?” Boaz exclaimed totally taken aback. “Why his first?” he demands, “It was my idea!” he states.   
“Because, you, sir…” she pokes Bo’s chest, “… had WAY too many beers yesterday. And that will be in your blood for up to 80 hours after you stopped drinking! So, no donating for you until tomorrow or the next day!” He growls and glares at her. “Fine!” 

Dan and Henry laugh. 

Bo groans and says, “So what’s the next step, Peg?” She smiles and walks over to the cabinet and pulls out a container to hook up to the needle’s hose so it can collect the pint of blood that they will transfer into the woman. “Joe fills this. It will take a little while to do, and you might get a bit woozy, Joe. Did you have a good breakfast?” he gives her a huge grin and says, “Yup!” 

She proceeds to hook everything up and has Joe sit in the chair again she asks him which arm he wants to use. “Well, you already stuck this one, so you might as well use that one, so I still have one good arm to use.” They all laugh, and she nods. She puts the tourniquet back on his bicep and waits a minute to find a good vein. She sticks in the needle and secures it with a strip of cloth around his elbow and forearm. She releases the tourniquet and hands him a rubber ball and tells him to slowly squeeze it and then relax repeatedly. He asks why and she explains how it helps with the blood circulation. She checks to make sure it’s collecting properly in the container and says she will be right back. 

She steps out of the room and goes to the break room, washes her hands, and pours a glass of orange juice and grabs a couple sugar cookies from the cookie jar and places the cookies on a napkin. Then she brings them back into the room where the guys are waiting. She sets the juice and cookies next to him on a little table. He looks at her puzzled and says, “Isn’t it supposed to be MILK and cookies?” 

She laughs and replies, “Not this time. Joe, if you start to feel shaky or woozy, slowly eat a cookie. If it doesn’t go away, sip on the juice. They will help keep your sugar levels up in the remaining blood we leave in you.” He nods.   
They sit and chat while they wait for the container to fill. Peg tells Bo that if she nods off to wake her once the container is full to a certain level. He nods. They all chat and Joe eats a cookie and drinks half of the juice. Bo looks over at Peg and she had indeed nodded off to sleep, leaning against Henry. Finally, the container is almost full. 

Henry wakes Peg up and she gets ready to finish off the first part of the transfusion. She clamps off the tube and then removes the needle from Joe’s arm. She hands him another cotton nub and re-wraps his elbow with the cotton cloth strip. “Now get up SLOWLY, Joe. You may get a bit dizzy. NO strenuous activity for the rest of the day! You’re down a pint of blood now, so you may feel sluggish and not have as much energy as you did earlier. Don’t worry though, it will come back as your body makes more blood to replenish what we took.” 

He nods. And stands. “Woah, you weren’t kidding about the dizzy thing!” he says as he wobbles a bit, grabbing the arm of the chair and Peg to steady himself. She chuckles.   
“Just stand there for a minute and drink the rest of your juice and munch on the other cookie. Bo, come here and let him hold onto your shoulder while I get this taken care of.” She says as she indicates to the container of blood.   
“Peg, can we take him down to the break room?” Dan asks. He could sit on the sofa or lie down if that’s ok.” She nods, “Just walk SLOWLY. Since this is his first time doing this, his body isn’t too sure how to react. If he decides to donate again, it will be easier for him to recover next time.” 

“Bo, you stay here so you can see the rest of this process.” She says to him. He nods. 

Henry gets up and gives her a peck on the cheek. “I’ll go help Dan with Joe. He’s such a big guy that I’m afraid he might crush Dan if his legs buckle.” She chuckled and nodded. She proceeded to show Boaz what all needed to be done and then they took the blood filled container into the woman’s room and she had Sophie show him how to hook it up to the woman while Peggy went to sleep for a few hours on the cot in the break room. 

Sophie explained to Bo that with each transfusion they need to watch for signs of a reaction. She listed off all the signs they have to watch for and explained that they usually occur within the first 15 minutes after the transfusion starts. So, they sat down and waited. He quietly filled her in on what they discovered and then he remembered he was going to ask Henry to bring the file over so he could read about the cases of the missing women in the Dakotas who had been found tied to the evergreen trees and were whipped and raped. 

After a half hour of observing and seeing no symptoms of a reaction, he gets up and tells Sophie that he needs to go talk with Henry. She nods and thanks him for sitting with her.   
He walks down the hall to the break room and finds the three lawmen talking quietly while Peg sleeps on the cot. Joe is sitting on the couch, Dan and Henry are in two other chairs by the couch. They are listening to Henry as he explains briefly about the missing pregnant woman from the ND farm and how Peg thinks this woman, they found may be her. Joe’s and Dan’s eyes get huge. 

Bo is standing in the doorway listening. He clears his throat to get the men’s attention when Henry finishes explaining the situation. They all look over at him and motion for him to join them. He goes and grabs a cup of coffee and joins them, sitting next to Joe on the sofa. 

He asks Henry and Dan if they have heard anything from the Sheriffs in ND yet and confirms that they were, indeed, notified of the situation. Dan assures him they were called. He said they are sending a copy of the updated case files of the whipped and raped women who were found dead and tied to the trees. So he and Henry and Joe can go over them. Dan explains that they are also sending copies of their photographs to him and have requested that he send them copies of his and any pertinent info we have to contribute to the case so that both parties have the same information. 

Bo nods, then says, “Henry, I know you briefly explained to the guys about this case of the missing ND pregnant woman from the farm. But I am not familiar with the story of what exactly happened, like they probably are. Can you tell it again with more details?” 

Henry chuckles and says, “Let me go get the file and I’ll read it to you all. It’ll be faster that way and it will help me refresh my mind on it anyway, as I’m sure I have forgotten important details. Wait right here and I’ll be right back in a jiffy. Dan, can I get the keys to the filing cabinet, please?” He asks Dan as he gets up. 

Dan tosses him the keys and says, “Here, you know which ones they are. I haven’t changed any of them since you gave them to me a couple years ago.” Everyone chuckles.   
Henry leaves for the Sheriff’s office to retrieve the file. Bo munches on the food still sitting on the table. They quietly talk for a bit and then Henry returns. Henry tosses Dan the keys and sits down next to him so they can both see the case file. Dan hands Joe the pictures for him and Bo to look at while Henry spends the next hour reading the file out loud enough for them to hear, but not loud enough to disturb his wife’s slumber. 

The file states the woman’s name was Ruth Turner, age 32, 4 months pregnant when she disappeared. She had no immediate family and the farmhands were the ones who reported her missing. He shares how the woman had been spotted at least twice with two men who had robbed a bank and several convenience stores, and they had gotten hotel rooms and ditched out after anywhere from 1-5 days without paying. They had been spotted by lawmen a few times over the years, but always managed to evade capture. 

“What do they look like?” Bo asks. Henry provides descriptions that the lawmen, the convenience clerks and the bank tellers all gave. Joe finds the wanted sketches in the pile of photos in his hand and shows them to Boaz. One is tall, 6’, with reddish brown hair and blue eyes. The other is shorter, 5’11”, and has dark hair and eyes. 

Dan rubs his chin. “I can’t remember if they had a description of the vehicles that these jerks were driving listed in the file, Henry. Can you look and see?”   
Henry nods. “Ahh, Here it is… It’s a 1928 Ford truck, green paint, black fenders, the bed of the truck is enclosed with no windows, it has a sunscreen on the front window and spare tire on the driver’s front tire hub.”

Dan’s eyes light up! “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna make some phone calls to the sheriffs within a 4 day drive of here to let them know to be on the lookout for this vehicle and two men matching these descriptions, and explain briefly why they are wanted.”   
Henry looks up at him as he stands. “Good idea. Let the sheriffs and also the local business owners both there and here know to be looking for them too, but not to put up any wanted posters yet and tell the business owners to not approach them regarding what has happened. We don’t need them seeing the posters or being confronted and them skedaddling out of the area before we can catch them!” Dan nods and heads for the door. 

“Henry, so how do these two men know each other? Where did they meet?” Joe asks. “They’re brothers, it’s believed.” Says Henry. “The sheriffs in ND think that the one doing all the heists is believed to be the older of the two brothers. He’s the taller one, and is mean, and unpredictable they note in the file. He’s also armed and considered dangerous. 

The get-away driver they think is the younger brother, the one with dark hair and eyes. He is believed to be unarmed. The younger brother is shorter than the older one. He’s seen more often just wandering around the area. We aren’t sure if he’s a look out scoping out the area or if he is just taunting us and challenging us to catch them. He’s never been seen actually doing any heists or anything illegal other than being a get-away driver. It’s always the older brother doing the crimes. The file says that the younger one occasionally is seen alone buying things from pharmacies and groceries. “Always pays and seems polite.” According to the cashiers they interviewed.

The two times the woman was seen with them she was held at gunpoint by the older brother and seen going from the truck to the restroom at a convenience shop and then back to the truck. One time she was very pregnant, the last time she was thin again, both times she sported multiple bruises to the face and arms, the file says, but that was almost 8 months ago now!” Henry explained as he read the file. 

At that statement, Boaz’s head popped up. “Eight months?!?!?” So, this woman we found REALLY could be her! She was around 7 months pregnant! The injuries she sustained pointed to long term physical AND sexual abuse! Which also seems to fit with the story!” 

He proceeds to explain to them the extent of the physical and sexual abuse injuries she had suffered. “If these guys beat her and then dumped her, and then hear a woman matching her description was found battered, but alive along the side of a road, they may come back to that spot to make sure it’s not her and that she’s dead. When they see she isn’t there, they’ll start looking for her in the closest clinics / hospitals! And if she somehow jumped out of that truck to escape, they DEFINITELY will come looking for her! "Henry, she can’t stay here! It’s not safe for her nor for anyone else here in the hospital if they show up here looking for her and find her here! It could put the WHOLE town in danger!” Boaz exclaims as worry sets in.

Suddenly everyone realized that the situation just went from bad to worse. “Boaz, where do you propose we move her to where she can hopefully recover in safety?” Henry asks him, concern etching his face. He did NOT like how this case was headed!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying the story. I'm having fun trying my hand at this. Never wrote a mystery before, so we'll see how this goes! 
> 
> as always, comments and kudos are welcomed!  
> If you like the story, bookmark it and subscribe so you get notified when I add new chapters!  
> Thanks again!   
> Happy reading!


	15. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Bo and company realize it is not safe for their mystery woman to stay at their town's hospital since it will most likely be one of the places her tormentors will look for her.   
> Bo reveals his plan and everyone agrees to go along with it. They start to make plans and Bo decides to get some more rest before they put the plan into action.

Chapter 15   
“THE PLAN”

  
Boaz sighed, and ran his hands through his long hair after taking out the ponytail Sophie had put it in. “I propose we take her and all the supplies I will be needing to my cabin. It’s deep in the woods, and few besides yourselves have been there from the town. Peg has worn a “hidden path” between your cabin, Henry, and mine that only the 4 of us knew about. If the two of you are willing, I’d like her to come help nurse this woman at my place, since it is highly likely the woman will be terrified of us men until we can earn her trust. Having a woman there who knows us should help calm this mystery woman and convince her we can be trusted and won’t hurt her. Henry, I thought you might want to provide “lookout / protection” should any trouble show up, you can call Dan and Joe.”

“Hmmm,” Henry says, “I suppose it might work. Will it be safe for her to be moved around and jostled again for the two hour trip?” He asks Boaz.

“I told Peggy we should keep the woman sedated for another day to let her body and mind rest. So, she should be fine. Her vitals are staying ok. She is getting a transfusion now of Joe’s blood, and she will need another one in a day or so.” Boaz replied. 

“How is she going to get another transfusion if she is all the way out at your cabin, Bo?” Joe asks.

“I’ll have Peg do it with my blood and we’ll bring the supplies we need with us to do it.” Boaz explains to Joe. “I figured that Dan and Sophie can continue to “check up on me” each week like they have been doing for the past couple years so no one will suspect anything. They can bring me supplies and medicines that we’ll need during the visits.” 

Joe nods. “That might actually work then!”

Joe, you haven’t been to my place yet, so you’ll have to be careful that no one follows you should you ever come out to my cabin on your own. I’ll need you to accompany us with transporting this woman should we all agree to this plan, so you’ll know how to get there.”   
He nods and smacks Bo on the back. “No problem! Happy to help anyway I can!” He says with a big grin! 

“What plan do you mean, Bo?” Dan asks as he comes back in the door of the breakroom after making his calls. Bo quickly explains the plan again to Dan. “Can we safely transport her in the condition she is in currently?” he asks Bo.   
“We’ll know within the next 24 hours. Which should give us enough time to make all the arrangements and gather the needed supplies to last a few weeks in case of snowstorms. I’d prefer to have a month’s supply but will settle for a couple weeks.” Bo explains to Dan. 

Dan nods and says, “Well if that’s the plan, I had better make some more phone calls to see if Amy is willing to send some food along with you, Bo. That way you don’t have to worry about cooking AND doctoring. I gotta go over there and pay your tab today anyway, so I can just pick the food up then.” 

Bo starts to object about him paying the tab from the day before, but Dan just says, “Bo, consider it a gift from the community to you, ok!?!”   
Bo sighs knowing he isn’t going to win this one, “Ok, Dan. Thanks.” 

He turns to Henry and asks if he is going to need anything in particular for keeping guard duty at the cabin. “Nope, I got what I need up at ours. And like you said, Peg has the hidden pathway we here know about. So I can move between the two cabins undetected by anyone from the road or driveways.” The other men nod. 

“I’ll let Sophie know what’s going on and we can get a list of supplies and equipment we will need. I want them loaded tonight after dark, so this plan doesn’t become public knowledge. You can’t tell Amy & Mame about this woman, Dan, just say it’s for me and that you guys are coming for a game night, or something like that.” 

Dan nods. “Are you going to need a vehicle to transport the equipment to your place, Bo? Your truck is already packed with stuff for the cabin, and we’ll have to put her in the back of my truck to get her back to your place”   
Bo thinks for a minute, rubbing his beard. “Nuts, I forgot about that!” he says. Dan chuckles and heads out the door to call Amy.

“I can take it, Bo,” says Henry. “we can put it in our truck and Peg and I can deliver it to you there. We’ll just leave a half hour before you do so no one suspects. Peg can show me how to set any of it up that you’re going to need right away and we can have it all ready by the time you get there if you tell us where you want all of it.” 

Boaz smiles and reaches out to pat Henry. “Great idea! That will probably work the best. Peg knows what she is doing for setting it all up, and it’s right on your way home anyway!”   
“Well, that settles it then! Problem solved!” exclaims Henry.

Joe laughs, “Ok, so this is a go then? We are all agreeing to do this? What are we going to call it? “Joe asks.   
“Hmmm, how about ‘Operation Sunshine’?” Sophie suggests, as they all turn surprised to look at her standing in the doorway. She laughs, “What? Why are you staring at me like that?”   
“Why ‘Sunshine’ for the mission’s name?” Joe asks.   
“Because she’s been through Hell and you found her in the rain and cold. She needs warmth, Sunshine, and happiness restored to her and be protected if she is going to make a 100% recovery. Right Doc Abram?” She says turning to Bo for confirmation.   
Bo grins. “Right Soph!” He replies smiling. “Operation Sunshine it is! Mission commencing immediately.” chuckles Boaz.

“Hey, Soph, who’s with the woman if you’re in here?” Joe asks her. “I caught Dan on his way to make a phone call. He had poked his head in to check and see how she was doing. I asked him to stay with her so I could get some coffee.” They all nod. 

Sophie yawns. And walks to the coffee maker to get a cup. She looks longingly at the cot where Peg stirs a bit. Henry sees how tired Sophie is and walks over to Peg and shakes her arm gently to wake her. “Peg, honey, you need to get up. You said not to let you sleep more than a couple hours and Sophie is exhausted and could use a nap.” 

She sits up, yawns and stretches. She sees Soph standing there and then asks the same question Joe did about who’s with the woman. She gets the same answer Joe got and then nods. “Well, I suppose you’ve earned a nap, dear.” She says as Henry helps her put her shoes back on and helps her stand. She walks over to the coffee machine and pours herself a cup. Sophie, finishes drinking the cup she poured for herself, rinses it out and places it in the rack. Then in turn walks to the cot and plops down, not even bothering to remove her shoes or cover herself with the blanket. She is out before Peg finishes her cup of coffee. 

“Well that was quick!” She laughs as she sees Sophie out like a light on the cot.

Joe gets up and walks over to Soph and covers her with a blanket. “She worked hard today and has earned a rest, just like you did Peg.” 

The men fill Peg in on “Operation Sunshine” and she chuckles. “Leave it to you men to turn it into some kind of battle plan to rescue the damsel in distress!”   
“Protect, my dear, not rescue. Boaz already did the rescuing!” Henry corrects, elbowing Boaz teasingly and wiggling his eyebrows at him with a smirk.”   
Boaz’s face turns very red and he looks down at his coffee cup in his hands. “I think we should get some more sleep now. We’ve had a very long night and morning and I need a few more hours of sleep before we get going again. Peg, when Sophie wakes up, have her wake me up too and the three of us can put our heads together and come up with a list of supplies we’ll need up at the cabin to take care of her for at least a month, maybe longer.” Boaz says. 

Everyone nods and Joe says he’s going home to get some sleep. “Call me if anything happens or when everyone is awake and ready to roll.” He stretches and yawns.

Henry nods and says, “Will do, young man! Go get some sleep!” Joe chuckles and pats him on the back before turning to leave.   
Peg turns back to the sink and rinses out her coffee cup and puts it back into the rack. Then she informs everyone that she will go sit with the woman and if they need anything to come find her there. She tells Bo she will start a list for him, if she has time, and that he and Soph can look over it when they wake up and can add to it then. 

Bo nods and moves over to the sofa, sits down and kicks off his boots. Then he grabs a blanket and lays down for a couple more hours of sleep. Henry moves his boots to the side of the sofa, so no one trips over them, and tells Bo that he’s going to sit with Peg and keep her company. Bo nods then closes his eyes and lets sleep take him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! more chapters coming soon!


	16. Regaining Consciousness (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the mystery woman finally is allowed to regain consciousness and they discover she is indeed, terrified of men.   
> How will this affect their plans for "Operation Sunshine"?  
> Will they be able to earn her trust in time to move her to the safer location?
> 
> Read on and find out!

Chapter 16   
REGAINING CONSCIOUSNESS (Part 1)

  
Peg walks into the woman’s room and sees Dan standing there at the foot of the bed thinking. He looks over and smiles. “Have a good rest?” he quietly asks her when she comes up to him.  
“Yup.” She says. “Sophie is having a turn at resting now.” “How’s the young lady doing?”   
He shrugs. “She’s moaned a bit and moved her head a bit, but other than that, she seems fine and is resting.” 

Peg walks over and listens to the woman’s heart and lungs. The lungs sound more congested. She frowns. “What’s the matter, Peg?” Dan asks.   
“The woman’s lungs are getting congested. I hope it’s not pneumonia. She was so wet and cold when you guys brought her in that she may have gotten sick on top of the wounds and trauma she has suffered. Pneumonia is serious, if we don’t catch it in time, she could die. I’m going to run some tests with Bo’s approval and see if we can get her some anti-serum for that pneumonia.” Peg explained. 

Dan looked worried and asks, “You really think she has it don’t you, Peg.”   
Peg nods. “She hasn’t started coughing yet, but I don’t want to wait till it gets that bad. It could drain what little strength she still has quite quickly. She is so weak from all the trauma it won’t take much to kill her.”   
Dan nods. “Go check with Bo and I’ll stay here with her.” He says to Peg. She quickly runs out of the room to find Bo. 

“Bo?” she says, gently shaking his shoulder a few minutes later. “Bo, wake up.”   
“mmmmnnnn, what is it Peg?” Bo mumbles, not opening his eyes yet.   
“Bo, I think the woman is starting to come down with Pneumonia.” She says.   
His eyes shoot open and he bolts up into a sitting position. “What? Are you sure?” He asks.  
“Yes, Bo, I’m sure. Her lungs have sounded congested for a few hours now. I thought propping the head of her bed up a bit would help, but it’s getting worse. We need to get testing done to confirm it quickly so we can get her some anti-serum before it progresses too far.” He nods.   
He hadn’t heard there was an anti-serum for it. “Is this anti-serum effective? I’ve not heard of it before, is it new?” He asks her.   
“Yes, Bo, it’s fairly new. I’ve had to do tests on several patients for it already, and it works like a charm… IF the pneumonia is caught early enough.” She reassures him. 

He nods. “Then go ahead and do it. Do you need me there with you?” He asks.  
“No, you go back to sleep and rest. I can do it on my own just fine. I just needed your permission since you’re the tending physician.” She replies.   
He nods and then lays back down. “Wake me up in a few hours… but let me know if you need anything else in the meantime.”

Peg nods and leaves to run the tests. A few hours later she is administering the serum after gaining a positive test for Stage 1 Pneumonia. It’s now 3:30 pm and Joe, Boaz, Sophie & Henry couldn’t sleep any longer. It took forever for the men to get their brains to shut down enough to let them sleep after discussing “Operation Sunshine” but everyone eventually got sleep.   
The three lawmen now stand at the observation window to Ruth’s room and watch as she lay there unconscious and Peg is administering the anti-serum. Throughout the morning and into the afternoon everyone took turns staying with the woman to give Peg and Sophie more breaks. 

Several times that afternoon the woman started to wake and fight the Oxygen mask and Iv’s. Boaz was woken up to come help and was worried. “She shouldn’t be waking up considering how much sedation she is being given!” he mentions to Peg after another round of the woman fighting them and him having to help restrain her. 

Peg thought for a few minutes and then said, “Bo, maybe its best if we wean her off of it and see how she reacts. Maybe the concussion wasn’t as bad as we thought, and this is her brain’s way of telling us to back off and let her wake.”   
Boaz nods. “Start reducing the sedation. Let me know the moment she wakes up.” Peg nods.

Now, an hour later, the four men and Peg look at the woman’s broken and battered body and marvel at her resilience. Joe looks over at Bo and asks why they have her arms in restraints. “It’s because she kept waking up and pulling at the oxygen mask and Iv’s. Peg and I were tired of fighting her to keep everything in place. She clobbered me in the shoulder with her cast one of the times she woke up, and I don’t want to risk the bones shifting. She is strong despite what she has been through and we were just too tired to keep trying to physically restrain her ourselves. The restraints will do that for us now so we don’t have to worry about her pulling the Iv or the transfusion line out if we can’t get to her in time. She nearly got the Iv out this last time before we caught her arms.” 

Just then the woman began to come to once more and started to try to move around she realized she was restrained. She frantically began to fight against the restraints and cried out in pain. Peg and Sophie rush over and try to calm her down. Peg is checking her heart rate and blood pressure as Sophie talks to the woman in a calming and soothing voice. The men could see the woman calm and open her left eye. Her hazel eye looked more blue against the dark blue blanket Sophie had brought in to try and comfort her. It was Sophie’s favorite blanket and was incredibly soft to touch. It was instantly a hit with the woman the moment Soph shoved it into her hand.

The men could see that this broken and bruised woman was clearly terrified waking up in an unfamiliar setting with unknown people around her, but the calm voice of Sophie along with the soft blanket Sophie shoved into her hand calmed the distraught woman quickly. 

Boaz moved to the door to grab the chart and write in it, and the movement caught the woman’s eye which opened wide and filled with fear instantly. She grabbed Sophie’s hand and tried to pull her in as a shield and curl up in a ball at the same time. Sophie turned to see what triggered the woman, who a moment ago was calm.

Dr. Boaz Abram walked in slowly. His 6’2” frame filled most of the doorway. He had grabbed the chart by the door and was making notes about what he had just seen. He looked up when Sophie chuckled and said to the poor woman, “It’s ok, Sunshine, he’s the doctor who found you and saved you. He won’t hurt you, not intentionally. I promise you are safe with him.” But despite Sophie’s best efforts, the woman would get agitated whenever Boaz stepped closer to her.

He thought it was strange, but then remembered what Peg had told him, that the woman was probably going to view all men as a threat after what she had gone through. He realized that if he was going to be able to treat her at his cabin, he was going to have to quickly gain her trust if they were going to move her to the cabin within the next day. 

He stopped at the foot of the woman’s bed. He could see and almost feel the fear emanating from the woman. Her eye was filled with terror. He stood there wondering how best to earn her trust. How to show her that he meant her no harm. He glanced around and saw that her right foot, the one in the cast, had become tangled up in the blankets when she had struggled. He made eye contact with her and ever so slowly reached down and just laid his hand on her foot. He felt her leg stiffen and tremble at his touch. He kept contact with her eye and didn’t move. She looked from Sophie to Peg and back to the man at the foot of her bed who was just resting his hand on her foot. 

Boaz wished he could know what was going on in her mind at that moment. When she finally calmed down and eyed him warily, he quietly spoke to her with his velvety baritone voice. “Sweetheart, My name is Dr. Boaz Abram. My friends, the men over there at the window, and I found you last night on the side of the road. My two friends are the Sheriff and His Deputy, and the third is the man on the right who was the former sheriff. He is Henry, and is the husband of Nurse Peg, here.” He says, indicating to the woman who Peg was.

She looks up at Peg, who smiles and nods at her. “They are neighbors of mine, dear friends, and good people. And Sophie here,” He says, gesturing to Soph, “Is married to the current Sheriff.”

The woman looks over at Sophie and she too smiles and nods. The woman calms some.

Boaz continues, “Both Peg and Sophie have cleaned you up and have been with you since we brought you here. They have been helping me to care for you and stitch you up and tend to your broken bones and other wounds. None of us here will hurt you intentionally. We just want to help you recover and find the people who did this to you so we can bring them to justice.” 

The woman’s face went from sheer terror, to bewilderment, to shock, to tears in a matter of the few minutes he had spoken to her. When she began to cry and cling to Soph, who gently held her and let her cry. Murmuring encouragement to the poor, battered woman. Boaz gently rubbed the woman’s foot and told her it was ok, and that she was safe. Sophie and Peg smiled up at him and did what they could to soothe and comfort the poor woman.

Peg went over to the cabinet and pulled out a clean washcloth and got it wet with cool water. She rang it out and brought it over to Sophie, who used it to wipe the woman’s face and tears. While Sophie did that, he slowly untangled the woman’s foot from the bedding and tucked it back under the covers. 

Boaz stood there feeling helpless as this poor woman tried to cry but the action just made her broken ribs hurt more. He just kept gently rubbing her foot and assuring her that none of them will hurt her. After several minutes, she quieted, but the fear was still there in her eye. She didn’t trust him yet. He knew he needed to take this slowly, but also understood they needed to move her out of here ASAP without alarming her. In order to do that, he knew he needed her to trust him, and the rest of the men. 

As he absentmindedly rubbed her foot gently, he looked around and spotted a chair by the windows. He asked her, “Do you mind if I pull up that chair over by the window and bring it here so we can just talk for a bit?”

She looked from where his hand was on her foot, up to his face then over to Sophie. Sophie just smiled and said, “It’s ok, Sunshine, Peg and I are right here and will stay with you if you want.” The woman visibly relaxed a bit. Boaz glanced up at Peg, who nodded and tilted her head as if saying, “Well, what are you waiting for? Go get the chair!”

He slowly let go of the woman’s foot and walked to the chair by the window. He reached around the door frame and grabbed the woman’s chart, then grabbed the chair. Bo glanced up at the men in the window and mouthed to them, “Shoo, go find something to do.” They nodded in understanding and walked away. He pulled the blinds closed to give her more privacy.

Bo had already instructed the staff that there was a badly beaten patient who was brought in last night and is NOT to be disturbed. He also told them DO NOT talk to anyone about her except to Dan, Joe, Henry, Sophie, Peggy and himself. They agreed to that and left Boaz, Peggy & Sophie to care for said patient and they welcomed him “back”. 

He turned, now, from the window, picked up the chair and carried it back slowly to the right side of the woman’s bed and set it next to Sophie. The woman eyed him warily but didn’t freak out this time. He sat down, careful not to move too fast, and said, “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? They’ll be mostly yes-no ones, so you can just nod or shake your head, ok?” She nodded and clung to the blue blanket, rubbing her thumb back and forth nervously over it’s softness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!!   
> More chapters to come!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After she is allowed to wake up, the mystery woman begins to notice her surroundings and meets her nurses and doctor. She has a flashback to her attacker and the hospital staff try to calm her. Can they earn her trust?  
> Read on and find out.

Chapter 17   
“CONSCIOUSNESS (Part 2)”

  
The woman felt groggy. She wasn’t freezing like before, but she still felt cold and in an incredible amount of pain. She could hear female voices off and on and one man’s voice that sounded vaguely familiar. But she was too tired to try to remember how. 

She kept having dreams of him. His tall lean frame, reddish brown hair, the hate and lust in his icy blue eyes. She kept feeling like she was being suffocated, yet still could breathe, like when he would cover her mouth as he raped her yet letting her breathe just enough through little gaps in between his fingers to keep her from passing out. 

She could hear strange noises and hisses from machines, but it didn’t register that they were hospital sounds. When she tried to rid herself of the suffocating hand over her mouth, she would feel hands grab her arm and pull it away from her mouth. “Must get it off so I can breathe!” she thought and would start to struggle against the hands. But then she would get so sleepy and drift off to darkness’ embrace once again.

Over and over it would happen. The nightmares, the feeling of suffocating, the arms restraining her, the sleepiness, and the darkness.

Finally, she started to hear a whirring noise again. The suffocation feeling was still there. She tried to dislodge it by turning her head when she realized she couldn’t lift her arms like before. She tried to use her shoulder to push it off. “Success! It shifted some!” She thought but then realized that was as far as she could get it, and still felt like she was being suffocated. “Ok, time to freak out!” ran through her mind.

That’s when she heard the woman’s voice that sounded like a cat’s purr. She listened to the lovely voice and began to calm down. She suddenly felt an incredibly soft blanket being pushed into her left hand again. It was the softest thing she had ever felt and immediately loved it’s feel. The more she listened to the woman talk, the more she wondered where she was. “Am I in heaven?” she thought. “I wonder where I am. I want to see this angel with the pretty voice. What does she look like?” 

She opened her one eye and was met with a pretty face. Dark, shiny, wavy hair and bright blue eyes that laughed and sparkled with happiness and joy. The angel had a white hat on and a white apron. The battered woman tried to smile at her, but her face hurt too much and a tear slipped out. The angel woman reached out with a clean hankie and dabbed it away and kept murmuring and talking softly to her that she was safe now. That she’d be all right. She could hear the angel’s voice a little clearer now. “Sunshine, you need to relax and trust us to take care of you. Relax now.” she murmured to her.   


The battered woman nodded. As she lifted her one good eye to look at the angel who talked to her, a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.

She looked over to see two bright rectangles on the far wall. One vertical and one horizontal and smaller. She could see three silhouettes in the smaller, horizontal rectangle, and one in the vertical one, she guessed was a door. When she saw the figure in the door she remembered her nightmare and had a flashback to the attack she received that caused her to become pregnant with the baby. “Wait! The baby, where is it?” She thought. She tried to reach for her belly and the man in the doorway moved forward a few steps. She was terrified and tried to curl up in a ball to protect herself and the baby. She grabbed the angel and tried to hide behind her. 

*****************************************************

All she could think of was the tall, mean, brutal man who attacked and raped her and the foul mood he had been in. They had been spotted again and had to find a new place to hide. The shorter brother, always kind to her, was sitting at her side on the bed, tending to one of the many wounds from a recent beating she received from the taller brother. 

“Get out Jack! NOW!” boomed the older brother as he stood in the doorway of the motel room. “I’m gonna teach this one a lesson for once again causing us to be detected by the cops.” He bellowed.   
“Can’t it wait a minute? I’m almost done bandaging her up from the LAST beating you gave her this morning! The bruises and cuts you put on her face is what drew the attention of the clerk at the convenience store! So technically it’s YOUR fault we got detected!” Jack says calmly. 

*thud* A lamp from the desk by the doorway just missed Jack’s head, as he calmly got up, looked at Ruth with an “I’m SO sorry!” look on his face and quickly left the hotel room to go for a long walk. He hated hearing what his brother did to her. She didn’t deserve ANY of it. He told her so one night as he spooned her to protect her from the ravishing of his deranged brother. 

As soon as the door closed, the older brother was on top of her and she let out a scream. He yanked her foot and dragged her off the bed and over to the closet where he tore her clothes off her and tied her to the clothes rod. Then he began to beat her like she was a punching bag. When he was satiated with that, he untied her and dragged her over to the bed, threw her down on her belly and tied her arms to the headboard and proceeded to rape her mercilessly first from behind while she kneeled bent over on the mattress, then he flipped her over an raped her again from a missionary position as he choked her. She knew better than to cry out and bit her lip to keep from making a sound. She tasted the metallic flavor of her blood. She knew it was no good to call for help. No one would hear her, cuz he always made sure to rent out a block of rooms surrounding the one they’d be in. Then they’d ditch out in the middle of the night and not pay for the rooms.” She closed her eyes waiting for the torment to end. He came and landed on top of her as he pulsed inside of her body, filling her with his seed once again. She felt dirty and broken and wished she could just die and be done with this, but she remembered what she promised his younger brother. That she would not give up and let his older brother win again. 

  
****************************************************

The poor battered woman grabbed the blue-eyed angel and clung to her with her left hand as the angel woman hovered over her trying to calm her and pull her out of the flashback. The angel turns to look back behind her to see what triggered the woman. She chuckled when she saw Boaz standing there holding the chart. She looks back at the battered woman and tells her, “It’s ok, Sunshine, He’s the doctor who found you and saved you! He won’t hurt you! Not intentionally. You’re safe with him.” The battered woman wanted to believe her, but the nightmare of the man in the doorway was too overwhelming to just sweep aside and ignore. 

The woman kept her eye on the man in the doorway now. He looked up when he heard the blue-eyed angel introduce him. The woman couldn’t see his face because of the bright lights behind him, and the dim lighting of her room. Her heart was pounding, and she was terrified. 

The man took a couple of steps into the room and the battered woman felt like she wanted to run and hide. But the blue-eyed angel kept telling her she is safe, and she is ok, that he won’t hurt her. The woman was afraid to believe her. She tried to squirm back, but the pain in her body told her that wasn’t going to happen. 

Tears came to her eyes and she was scared and frustrated that she couldn’t move. She felt trapped again. He took two more hesitant steps. She could tell he was trying not to scare her. She tried freeing her arms again, but they were still restrained. Panic was starting to set in. Especially when the man reached the foot of her bed and touched her foot ever so gently. She was positive he was going to yank her out of the bed and beat her for being so stupid. 

To her surprise, he just stood there, with his hand resting gently on her foot. She opened her eye when he didn’t move his hand after initially touching her. “Why didn’t he do anything else? She wondered to herself and looked at the blue-eyed angel for explanation, and then up to the figure to her right and then back to the man standing at the foot end of her bed. She could see his face now, and it seemed he was about as confused as she was. “Why didn’t he grab my foot? Why is he just resting his hand on it? He looks as scared and confused as I am!” She pondered. She began to calm some when the man made no further movements. 

She began to study his features. He had shaggy, dark hair with silver strands in it, a short, full beard with some silver in it, and laugh lines around his gorgeous, bright blue eyes. She noticed his eyes looked sad, no, lost and concerned all at once. She felt she could get lost in those eyes if she stared into them too long. His thin pink lips were pressed together, not quite in a frown, but as if he was trying to figure out a difficult puzzle. 

The battered woman had just turned her attention to his thin lips, when they parted, and he licked them before beginning to talk to her quietly. He had that smooth, velvety voice and called her “Sweetheart” and introduced himself, and who the people were in the window although she could only make out silhouettes. He told her that her blue-eyed angel is named Sophie, and that the other woman on the other side of the bed was named Peggy. She looked at each of them when he introduced them to her and they both had smiled at her. 

He explained that they took care of her and helped clean her up after she was found, and they have been with her the whole time of her stay in the hospital. He tries to assure her that they only want to help her and not hurt her and that they want to find the people responsible for her injuries and bring them to justice. When she looked back up into his face and saw the sincerity and concern in his eyes and also in the eyes of her angel, it reminded her of someone else, but she couldn’t remember who. She bursts into tears as the anxiety releases it’s hold on her and she is flooded in relief. 

She vaguely felt his hand start to rub her right foot and she barely registered that he had freed her foot from the tangled-up blankets and had tucked it back under the covers the way it was supposed to be. When she finally realized that he had done this she cried even more. Why, she could not say, but that small act spoke volumes to her heart and put her a little more at ease. 

Crying was hurting her ribs and her face. The more she cried, the more she hurt, and the more it hurt, the more she cried. She could feel a cool washcloth brushing against her face, which felt good and she could hear her angel’s voice murmuring to her again. After some time, she finally was cried out and exhausted. She realized he was still rubbing her foot. She was still afraid of him and didn’t entirely trust him yet. She saw several emotions flit across his face and wondered what he was thinking, and suddenly wondered why he was still there in her room. 

She noticed him looking around and followed his gaze to a wood framed chair with dark blue cushions over by the door. He spoke in his rich, calming voice and asked her if she’d mind if he pulled the chair over to sit and talk with her and ask her some questions. She wasn’t sure she wanted him THAT close to her yet. She looked at his hand still absentmindedly rubbing her foot, then looked up to his face, then over to her blue-eyed angel, Sophie. 

Sophie must’ve seen the battered woman’s anxiety and uncertainty flare up, so she smiled at the woman and told her that she and Peg would stay in the room right with her if she wanted that. The woman didn’t see Boaz glance at her to see if he was gaining her trust. She saw him though when he slowly let go of her foot and turned to walk over to the chair by the door. He looked at the figures in the window after reaching around the doorway to grab something, and they disappeared from the horizontal rectangle of light on the wall. 

He closed the blinds on the window, grabbed the chair and slowly walked back to her bed on the right side, and sat the chair down by her knees and next to Sophie. He slowly walked around the chair and sat down while studying her face trying to gauge her reactions to his movements. She didn’t like him so close and eyed him warily. He sensed this and didn’t try to touch her hand that was still restrained to the bedframe, nor her leg that he sat next to. She could tell he was trying to discover something, but she was too tired to figure out what. She closed her eyes for a minute. 

After Boaz sat down, he quietly asked her in his most velvety voice, “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? They’ll be yes-no ones, so you can just nod or shake your head, ok?”

She grabs for the soft blanket and Boaz notices her grasping it tightly and her constant rubbing of it with her thumb over the extremely soft fabric… back and forth… “She’s nervous.” He tells himself, “go easy on her.”

She keeps her eyes closed and waits for the velvety questions to begin.” Puzzled when they don’t right away, she peeks her eye open to see why. She sees him. He looked deep in thought for a minute…then looks at Sophie and Peg, who nod at him and smile… then he looks at her… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading another chapter.   
> Hope you're enjoying the story!
> 
> More chapters are on the way!


	18. Answering Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the mystery woman is awake and Boaz is trying to earn her trust as well as get some answers to questions he knows Dan will have.  
> Will she remember enough to answer them???  
> Read on and see.

Chapter 18   
“ANSWERING QUESTIONS”

  
Boaz sits for a minute just trying to gather his thoughts, figuring out WHICH questions need answering NOW, and which ones can wait for later. He glances up at Sophie, who smiles understandingly and then he glances at Peg, who gives him a reassuring wink and nod to him to continue. He looks back over to the woman who is studying him. She is holding the blanket and rubbing her thumb along it still. Sophie asks her if she likes the blanket, the woman nods.   
Sophie grabs hold of the tips of the woman’s hand and he looks over and notices that Peg is holding the fingertips of the woman’s right hand, since the woman’s hand and arm are in a cast. He shakes his head that the woman in the bed needed that arm restrained despite wielding it like a club at him earlier in the day. She had managed to hit him in the shoulder… HARD… and both of them had yelped in pain when it happened. It shocked him how hard she could hit considering the pain she must’ve been in. He watched Peg play with her fingers and got an idea. 

“Sweetheart, would you like Sophie to paint your fingernails?” She was always touching up her chipped nail polish at work when it was slow. She had a pale pink on right now and he figured she probably had some in her purse. The woman’s eye popped open in utter surprise. Boaz smiled. He liked that look on her face, as bruised as it was. It made his heart flutter a little. 

“That’s a great idea Boaz!” Sophie squealed excitedly. “Would you like me to do that? I have this pretty pale pink or a pale blue? Would you like the pink?” The woman thinks for a minute and nods slowly.   
“Sophie,” Boaz calmly says, “is your purse at the Nurses’ Station?” he asks her.   
“Yeah, it’s locked up though.” She turns to the woman and asks her, “Would you be okay if I run to go get it? It’s just on the other side of that window there.”

The woman looks a little scared for a second. Then Peg squeezes her fingers and reminds her that she is still there. The woman looks at her, and Peg smiles. The woman looks at Boaz and studies his face for a minute before making the smallest nod.   
Boaz nods to Sophie and she runs to go get the nail polish and supplies. Peg chuckles. “She’s not excited, not at all is she?” 

Boaz smirks and winks at the woman lying in the bed. “She’ll be right back, Sweetheart, no worries!” He smiles at her. She nods a little bit but doesn’t close her eye. She plays with the blanket some more.   
“That’s a really nice blanket Sophie brought for you, isn’t it?” he asks. The woman nods. “Did you know it’s her favourite blanket?” The woman turns her head slightly to look at him and her eye opens wide. She shakes her head slowly and looks at the blanket once more, caressing it with her hand. 

“Sophie always finds the neatest things,” Peg says. “I don’t know how she does it, but her husband who is our friend, Dan, is always talking about her latest find and how wonderful it is.” Peg finishes. 

Just then Sophie re-appears with a tray and all the stuff she needed. “Ok, time to pamper this gal while you play Q&A.” The woman tries to smile but groans at the pain the effort causes. “Just relax, Sunshine, I’ll make your nails look great. And when you got great nails, you get a nice boost of confidence. Every woman needs that!” Boaz rolls his eyes and Peg chuckles. 

“Ok, now, let me see, where to begin with questions.” Boaz says. “Sweetheart, do you remember your name?” he asks. She thinks for a minute and shakes her head, “No”. “Ok, do you mind us calling you Sunshine or Sweetheart?” again, she shakes her head “no”. “Does the name Ruth Turner sound familiar?” She thinks, then shakes her head ‘no’.

“Um, do you remember anything about your life before you woke up here in the hospital?” There’s a long pause. Both Sophie, Boaz and Peg look at each other when the woman doesn’t immediately answer. Finally, she shrugs as best she can with one shoulder in a cast.   
Boaz rubs his beard. “Do you remember who did this to you?” he asks as he gestures to all her injuries. “Could you point him or her out if you saw them or a photo of them?” She immediately nods.

Boaz’s eyes light up. And he makes a note on a piece of paper in the file. “Do you remember how many people did this to you?” She nods again. “Can you show me with this hand?” He asks as he gently touches her left hand and she tries to jerk it away (Sophie was working on her Right hand’s fingers, so she wasn’t in Bo’s way). “Sweetheart, I’m not going to hurt you. He says with a smile. Can you show me how many people attacked you?” She nods, she holds up one finger.   


Boaz’s eyes go wide. “One person did all this to you?” She nods again. He makes a note on the piece of paper. “Sweetheart, did this same person kidnap you from somewhere?” Her eye closes. No answer. “Sweetheart?” He asks her. Sophie stops filing the woman’s nails and looks at Boaz and shoots him daggers from her eyes.

“Sunshine, it’s ok, you don’t remember, do you?” Sophie asks her as Peg runs her hand along the woman’s head. The woman shakes her head.

“That’s ok, Honey, you probably won’t remember everything right away. You had a pretty good hit or two to your noggin. We don’t expect you to remember everything.” Peg assures her. The woman nods and a tear rolls down her cheek. Boaz gingerly reaches up and wipes the tear away with his thumb. Hoping it doesn’t frighten her. She flinches when he touches her face. But doesn’t freak out.   


Boaz sighs, “I’m sorry if I upset you. We are trying to fit puzzle pieces together of your story so we can figure out who you are and what happened. My buddy, Dan the Sheriff, and his Deputy and a whole host of Sheriffs from another state want to catch this person who hurt you and who may have hurt a bunch of other women the same way he hurt you. They want to make sure he is properly punished and that you and the other women’s families get justice. They want to make sure he can’t hurt anyone else anymore. Ok?”   


The woman’s eye gets wide in surprise at this news and she sheds more tears. She closes her eye and lets him gently brush them away with the clean hankie that Peg hands him, though she still flinches at his touches. And she nods that she understands.

“Sweetheart, will you look at me please?” he gently asks her. She opens her eye and looks at Boaz’s face. “Will you make me a promise?” He asks her. She raises her left eyebrow as if asking a question. He chuckles.   
“Promise me that you will tell one of us, any of us who takes care of you over the next few months, when you remember things. Both the good and the bad, scary or happy? Even if it doesn’t seem terribly significant to you, it could be a key piece of this puzzle that we need to solve the case, ok? Will you promise to do that for us?” 

She closes her eye and thinks a moment before giving a slight nod and a small sigh. She winces at the pain in her ribs.

Boaz smiles, and says, “Broken ribs make it very miserable for a while. Hurts to breathe, to yawn, to cough, and to sigh. But they will heal, in time. Be patient and take it easy, ok?” She nods. “Now if you don’t have the words to tell us what you need to, you can write it down, or draw a picture if you can’t tell us by speaking, ok?” She nods. “I will get you some bound paper and pencils to write/draw with if you like. Would that help you?” She looks at him for a few minutes and then nods. 

“Ok, honey, just a few more questions. I know you’re getting tired of them. I just need to ask a few more.” She sighs again and winces, then nods.

“Do you remember if there was another person who traveled with the person who beat you up?” he asks. She thinks for a minute and then nods. “Do you remember if they were both men?” She nods. “Do you know if they were related, like brothers?” He asks. She nods. 

“Sunshine, I thought you said only one person hurt you? Did the second person hurt you too?” Sophie asks as she paused in shaping Sunshine’s fingernail.

Ruth shakes her head “no” after a brief pause.

“Sweetheart, did the second man, the one who didn’t hurt you, did he help or protect you somehow?” Boaz asks the battered woman. Tears roll down her cheeks, and she pauses before answering with a slow nod. 

“Do you remember their names?” he gently asks as he again, takes the hankie to wipe up her tears. She flinches again, at his touch, but then nods when he is done mopping her tears.   
“Can you tell me them?” he asks her. She shakes her head “no”.

“Why not, Sunshine?” Sophie asks, caught up in the Q&A. The battered woman looks at her and wiggles her fingers on her right hand since Sophie has stopped playing with them.   
“Cuz I’m not doing your nails?” she exclaims incredulous.

Peg and Boaz chuckle, and the woman smirks a bit, then rolls her head side to side as if saying “no”. Sophie looks at Boaz confused.   
“Is it because you’re right-handed and it’s currently in a cast?” Boaz asks the battered woman. The woman nods. “If I can figure out another way for you to communicate with us will you tell me?” Her head shakes, “no”. 

“Why?” Boaz and Sophie both ask, confused. Ruth lifts her left arm and makes the bed frame rattle to remind them she is still restrained.   
“Little Minx!” Boaz chuckles. “You think I forgot about that don’t you?” He asks her. She nods. “If I take these off of you, will you stop trying to pull everything (Iv’s, mask, etc.) off of you? You already clubbed me on the shoulder with that once for trying to stop you.” He says pointing at her cast.

Her eye gets huge and she stares at him in disbelief, then she blushes and nods. “Promise?” He questions her. She nods again. 

Boaz gently grabs the restraint and begins to undo it. As soon as her arm is free, she reaches for her face. Alarmed, Boaz grabs her arm and begins to bring it back to the restraint. She shakes her head and scrunches her nose and makes funny faces under the Oxygen mask. Puzzled he keeps hold of her arm that has the wrist wrapped in bandages but allows her to bring her hand to her face. He starts to pull her hand away when she tries to move the Oxygen mask off. She shakes her head “no” and scrunches her face again. 

When he doesn’t understand, she moves her arm toward his face. Surprised, he backs away still holding her arm. When she shakes her head “no” again and crooks her finger as if saying “Come here” he leans closer and allows her hand to move towards his face as curiosity gets the better of him. When her hand gets close enough, she hesitantly touches his nose and gives it a light scratch, as if trying to scratch an itch. 

Peg and Sophie bust out laughing after holding their breath during the exchange, and Boaz smiles and chuckles. He asks Sunshine if her face is itchy and she wants to scratch it. She nods excitedly and he releases her arm and chuckles as she yanks up the Oxygen mask out of the way and gives her nose and the area where the mask had sat a good scratch. When she was done, Boaz stops her from putting the Oxygen mask back on when he sees how red the outline is on her face. Peg undoes the other restraint on the woman’s right arm’s cast. 

“Hmmm, Let’s try something different.” He says. “Will you let me listen to your breathing for a minute?” he asks her.

She looks at him with uncertain eyes. Then she looks at Peg, who smiles and gives a small nod. “It’s ok, honey, you will be fine, and we are right here.” 

The woman looks back at Boaz and give him a small nod. He puts on his stethoscope and moves back the blanket a bit to find the spot on her chest where he can listen to her breathing. She begins to have a flash back and her heart rate skyrockets. He listens for a minute and then waits for her to calm down, then moves the stethoscope to her left side and listens again. He can feel her body tremble each time he touches her skin. He looks at her and her eye is squeezed shut. He knows this is making her uncomfortable and she is trying not to freak out. Her hand is squishing the blanket and her thumb is rubbing it again. 

He then pauses and asks her in his ‘panty melting voice’ if she has ever heard her own heart beating.

This apparently pulls her out of her flashback and her eye opens wide and she shakes her head “no”. He chuckles and asks her if she would like to hear it. She nods.

He finds the spot on her chest that he hears the heartbeat the clearest. Then looks up at Peg and asks her to remove the earpieces from his ears and to place them in the woman’s so she can hear it. Peg nods and does so.

The woman’s eye gets as huge as saucers when she hears her own heartbeat. He lets her listen to it for a few minutes. Then asks her if she would like to listen to theirs? She nods and they each take a turn letting her listen to their heartbeats too. Boaz showing her where to place the round metal disk to best hear it. She is amazed and tries to smile, but groans when it hurts too much. 

He takes the earpieces out of her ears. She flinches as his hands come near her face. And he asks her if she is having any trouble breathing now. She shakes her head “no”. He tells her that if she does start having any trouble breathing, to let someone know right away, and they will have to put the mask back on for a while. He tells her she had the start of Pneumonia and that they gave her some medication to stop it and they are hopeful that they caught it early enough. She nods.

“Sorry for the misunderstanding earlier, I’m not the greatest with charades.” Boaz apologizes. All three women chuckle and the battered woman grabs her side and groans from the pain.

Boaz stands slowly. “Now, that your arms are free, are you willing to give us the names of the two men who were involved in this mess if I give you a paper and pencil?” He asks her with a smile and an eyebrow raised.   
She nods. He goes out to the nurses’ station and comes back with a notepad, pencil and a clipboard. He places the note pad on the clip board and lays the clip board down on her left side near her hand and leg. Then he holds out the pencil for her to take. She is unsure if she wants to do this and looks up at him with questioning eyes. 

He cocks his eyebrow and slightly tilts his head. She looks at the pencil and slowly reaches out a trembling hand to take it from his. She tries to position the pencil in her hand, and tries to write, but is struggling. He reaches down, moves the pencil a bit in her hand, causing it to freeze at his touch, and he then tilts the clipboard up a little and holds it for her. This seems to help, and she manages to write:   
_Tall = “Ed” Short = “Jack”_  
He picks up the clipboard and looks at it when she stops writing. “Are these their first names?” He asks her. She nods.

“Tall & Short… is that in reference to their heights?” she nods again.

“Honey, do you remember hearing their last names?” Peg asks her. She thinks for a minute and shakes her head, “No”. 

Boaz thinks back to the description of the two men that Henry read about in the file. “Sweetheart, do you remember what color their eyes were?” He asks as he sets the clipboard down by her lap. She nods and holds up the pencil, indicating she wanted to write. He holds the clipboard for her again and she writes:

“ _Blue_ ” next to “Ed” “ _Brown_ ” next to “Jack”

Boaz looks and his heart skips a beat.

He is almost afraid to ask her what color their hair is, but he knows Dan will need to know. “Honey, do you remember what color their hair was?" He asks her. She nods and holds up the pencil again. He lowers the clipboard and holds it for her once more. She writes: 

“ _reddish brown_ ” next to “Ed” “ _Black_ ” next to “Jack”.

His heart sinks. “It’s them.” He thinks to himself. "Dear God, it’s them!" as he rubs his face in frustration and worry. 

“Sweetheart, thank you for playing along with my Q&A for today. I’m going to stop and let you get some pampering from Sophie and then some much needed rest. Ok?” he says.

She yawns, winces, and nods as she holds her broken ribcage. She then brings her hand to her mouth, palm toward her face and fingers straight and next to each other, and then pulls it away and slightly down.   
Sophie’s eyes get huge. “Bo!!! Did you just see that?!?"

He nods, not understanding why she got so excited.

“Are you not able to speak and use sign language to communicate?” Sophie asks her excitedly.

The battered woman looks at her puzzled.

“That sign you just made to Boaz, that’s ‘thank you’ in sign language!” Sophie says.

The woman nods and cocks her eyebrow.

“Where did you learn that sign, if you’re able to speak?” Sophie asks. 

“Soph!” Boaz says quietly. “It doesn’t matter whether or not she can talk. Or if she knows sign language or where she learned it. What matters is simply that she finds a way to communicate until she regains the ability to speak. Ok?”

Sophie turns back to her and says, “Sorry, sweetie. Didn’t mean to offend. I just get excited when I see people using ASL to communicate. I have a deaf friend who taught me it so we could talk. Want me to teach you?!?” 

“Soph! She needs to rest. Finish her nails and let her sleep. We have a busy rest of the day ahead of us if we are going to get everything ready by tonight. Boaz reprimanded her. She pouts, “Ok, Boaz.” 

Boaz looks at her then hears a chuckle and looks at the battered woman in the bed just in time to see her face go from a sort of smile to a grimace of pain.

“Hey, you,” he gently brushes the hair out of her eyes. She flinches at his touch and squeezes her eye shut tight expecting to be hit anytime.   
“Sweetheart, look at me please.” Bo gently says, caressing her left side of her face. She slowly opens her eye, unsure of what was going to happen.

He softly says to her, “I know this is hard for you with the broken ribs, arm, shoulder, hip and leg. I know you are in a LOT of pain. They are all the pits on their own to deal with, but combining them all at once, you will be miserable for a while. Just try to take it easy, ok? If it gets to be too much, we can give you stronger pain meds. Give the ribs especially, time to heal and knit back together. Eventually you’ll be able to laugh and breathe and chuckle without them hurting all the time. Now close your eyes and rest. Enjoy the pampering by Sophie while you can.” He says with a smirk directed at Sophie. 

He glances back at the battered woman when she lifts her left hand and salutes him with a half grin, closes her eyes and lets Sophie continue pampering her. He lets out a chuckle and walks out of the room to go find Dan and the rest of the lawmen as well as some food and more coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More chapters on their way! thanks for reading!!!


	19. Operation Sunshine: Problems and answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bo is starting to see where they are going to have some problems with Sunshine.  
> He and Peg discuss this and come up with ideas.  
> Bo shares the ideas with Joe and Dan, who agree to help.

Chapter 19   
“OPERATION SUNSHINE: Problems and Answers”

  
As Boaz walks out of the woman’s room, he stops and places the chart back in the holder next to the door. “Why isn't Sunshine talking? I’ve GOT to find a way for her to communicate with us besides ASL or Writing!” he thinks to himself. “But what?” Just then Peg walks out of the room and sees him just standing there with his hand grasping his chin and playing with his beard, deep in thought. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” she asks as she stops and looks at him. “That hangover still lingering?” she inquires. “No, I’m ok, Peg. Just puzzled.” Boaz says suddenly very tired. “I just need more coffee so I can think better and solve a problem I just discovered we are going to have with Sunshine. Two problems, now that I think of it!” he sighs. 

“Oh? What are they? Maybe I can help.” Peg offers.

“Well, Peg, walk with me to the break room and we can discuss it and get some coffee and see if there’s any food left.”

******************************  
Bo and Peg walk into the break room and grab some fruit and coffee and sit at the table near the windows facing each other. “Well now that Sunshine is awake, it appears you were right, Peg. She is extremely afraid of men. You saw how she freaked out when I first approached the bed. I think she may have been having a flashback to something that happened to her in the past. Even when I left, I could see she was still wary of me, though, she finally did calm down and even let me touch her foot and face. But I think that was only because you and Soph were there. I doubt she would let me near her if one of you two wasn’t there with her.”

Peg nods. 

“Soph seemed to be able to calm her pretty easily though.” Boaz exclaims as he runs his long fingers through his dark locks. 

“Well, Honey, that’s to be expected in abuse situations. Especially ones that have gone on for a long period of time like hers suggests.” Replies Peg as she sips her coffee and pops a grape in her mouth. “The men who will be around her need to understand that and need to be slowly introduced to her, maybe one at a time. It might help if they bring a little gesture to her to show her they mean her no harm.”’  
“Like a peace offering?” replies Boaz and pops half of a strawberry into his mouth. Peg nods, “Yes, Bo, a peace offering. Like a small bunch of flowers, or something she can take with her to comfort her and make her feel safe.” Peg suggests. 

Boaz thinks for a minute. “Well, she seemed to draw comfort from that blue blanket Sophie brought for her. She wouldn’t quit running her thumb over it as we talked. Maybe she likes things that are soft.” Boaz says more to himself than to Peg. 

“Bo, see if Sophie can get out of her whether she likes dogs.” Peg says, suddenly getting an idea.  
“What?” Boaz looks at her like she is crazy. “Why dogs?” he asks.   
“Well, Bo, sometimes they can be good for an abused victim, to have something they can draw comfort and security from if they weren’t traumatized by one.” Peg suggests. “You know how most dogs are: soft, fuzzy, and very loyal, loving and friendly. Plus they are good at determining a person’s intentions. They can often sense if a person is a mile off their rocker, and if someone intends to harm their owner, or if their owner is sad or upset or having a flashback. They will go into protective mode and try to keep their owner safe and will try to comfort them.” Peg explains.   
“I know someone who has a young adult Belgian Malinois-Siberian Husky mix dog that needs a home as they are moving and can’t take the dog with. They are great guard dogs and very loyal… and it looks like a grey wolf. Hahaha! It’s SUCH a handsome dog, Bo! You should see him!” 

Boaz rubs his chin, thinking about Peg’s suggestion.

“Bo, it would keep you BOTH company at the cabin and will alert you to intruders. It might also be able to alert us if she starts having a panic attack or a flashback as well. It already knows me and Henry and has NEVER barked at us. It knows Sophie and Dan too. If you’re up for it and if Sunshine is willing, I can check with the owners tomorrow and we could bring It over to the cabin in the next day or two to see how well they do. Kind of like a trial run.”

“I’ll think about it, Peg. Have Soph find out if Miss Sunshine is afraid of dogs or not first though. I don’t want to take this dog on if it is going to frighten her.” Boaz replies. Peg nods. 

“Well, that takes care of problem #1.” Boaz states, “On to problem #2.”   
“And that is???” Questions Peg as she pops half an orange slice in her mouth. 

“Communicating with Sunshine.” Boaz replies. “She doesn't seem to be willing to talk to anyone. She can’t really communicate beyond ‘yes, no’ questions and she struggles to write with her left hand." Boaz states, obviously frustrated. He gets up and grabs his coffee and walks to the window to look out over the town. “Any ideas?” He asks her.

“Hmmmmmm…” Peg hums. “it could be she isn't talking because of her head injury, or because of the emotional trauma she has endured. it's difficult to say. You said she struggles to write left-handed… what if she had a box of small letters that she could take and spell words with on a piece of metal or wood with a frame on it to hold the letters? Kind of like a typeset used for printing presses only the letters wouldn’t be reversed. I’m sure someone in town could come up with one. It might take her a little longer to communicate, but it shouldn’t be as difficult for her to do.” She suggests.

Boaz nods, considering the suggestion.

Peg continues, “Maybe a box with individual compartments to hold each bunch of letters and the cover could contain the channels to hold the letters when she is spelling words. Dan or Joe could give it to her as a peace offering, maybe. Henry and I can give her the dog, if it’ll work out with you and her."   


Boaz thinks for a minute then nods, “That’s a great idea Peg!” Boaz exclaims as he turns from gazing out the window to look at her. His eyes lighting up in excitement and twinkling with hope. He flashes Peg a big smile and gives her a big bear hug. 

“How long do you think it would take to make?” he asks. “Shouldn’t take too long.” She replied. “I will have Henry do some inquiring and maybe he and Joe can work on it together, since Joe is still fairly new here.”   
“Thank you Peg!!! You’re the best!” Boaz grins and gives her another hug.

“Speaking of the guys, where are they?” Boaz asks, suddenly realizing he hasn’t seen them for a while. “I think Henry and Dan went to make phone calls to the Sheriffs in the area and also called the ones in ND that Henry knew who were working on those two cases.” She explains.

“What about Joe?” Boaz asks. 

“I think Joe was getting food and clothing supplies packed that I knew you’ll need for the gal plus some “just in case” items. He went to go move your truck to the back of the hospital to load them up now that the sun will be setting in a few hours.”   
Boaz nods. “Good.”  


“Bo, How ARE you set for groceries? You’re SO much thinner than the last time you were in town for supplies.” Peg carefully inquires as she puts a hand on his arm.

His smile fades and he sighs, “I needed food, that’s one reason why I came into town. For supplies and food…. And I was out of Whiskey.” He sheepishly replied. “I haven’t been eating much, to be honest. I HATE cooking when it’s just me. Most of the time I forget to eat till it’s late in the evening.” Boaz admitted. 

“Boaz Abram!!!!” Peg scolds and smacks him on the shoulder since she couldn’t reach his head. “You’re a doctor!!! You KNOW how bad that is for your body to be drinking and not eating!!!!!” 

Boaz flinches at the smack, but chuckles and says, “I know Peg. But at the time, I just didn’t care anymore.” Boaz said sadly as he ran his hands through his long locks again after setting his coffee cup on the window ledge. “Honestly, Peg, I was SO lost in despair, guilt and pain, that I just didn’t care if I lived or died anymore. I miss my girls SO much! But now I’m seeing this woman’s injuries and learning what all she has endured and suffered, and I realize now, my pain pales in comparison to hers, and yet she still clings to life. But you already knew that...”  


With that he slumped onto the nearest chair, tears trickling unheeded down his cheeks as he hung his head in shame, eyes looking at his feet. Peg squats down and touches his broad shoulders that now hung forward. Tucking her hand around his chin, she turns his head towards her. She uses her other hand to wipe his tears. “Boaz, I want you to look at me, Honey.”   
He turns his eyes to meet hers. 

“We already talked about this, Bo. You know none of this is your fault. You are not to blame for the death of your family members. It was their time to go, as hard as it was, you need to let them go so both you and them can be at peace. You did all you could to help them and there was nothing more anyone could’ve done. You HAVE to let go of this guilt that is eating you up! 

Do you think Abbie would be happy if she could see you right now? Do you think she would be pleased to know you wanted to drive off the cliff last night? Don’t you think she would tell you the same thing I just did, to let her go and move on?   
Death and Life go hand in hand, Boaz, you out of anyone should know that. One follows the other. NONE of us live forever! There will always come a time when we must say goodbye to those we love. No doctor or nurse in the world can stop death when it calls a person home. We just have to learn to accept it, remember the good times we had with the person, and learn to move on. 

Look at it this way, Bo: Don’t you think she would want you to find someone to be happy with again? If the roles were reversed, and you were the one who had died, and she was left behind, wouldn’t you want that for her? That she find someone else to be happy with, who loves her like you did, who will make her happy? And not spend the rest of her life depressed and suicidal?”

He looks down and nods. “You’re right Peg.” Boaz sighs. “I just wish I knew HOW to move on when my heart feels so empty and dead. Everyone tells me to let her go and move on, but no one says how to do that.”

Peg nods. “I know, Honey. It’s hard to figure out sometimes. Something my Momma said when Pappa died, has stuck with me all my life. I asked her once how did she let Pappa go and move on. Do you know what she said?” 

Bo looks at her and shakes his head.

“She said He never really left her, that she carried his memory and his love always in her mind and in her heart. ‘He is always with me and speaks to me in my memories.’ Momma used to say.” Boaz closed his eyes and smiled. 

“Bo, the same goes for you. Always remember how much Abbie loved and cherished you and Faith. That love is ALWAYS going to be with you in your heart and in your memories of her. Cling to those happy memories and focus on them. She loved helping people, just like you do.” Peg says. Boaz nods, eyes closed. 

“I think one way you can honor her memory and start to move on is by caring for this young woman you found. She has given us back glimpses of the old Boaz we once knew. I think that she is good for you, Honey. She has reminded you of your calling in life and has given you a reason to live. She has shown you SO much already! Like you said, Bo, seeing her and what all she has endured, made you realize your pain paled in comparison.” 

He nods. “It’s what Abbie would want me to do. Help Sunshine recover, and help her to learn to trust again, help her start over and move past all she has suffered.” Boaz says quietly.

He glances up at Peg with a lopsided grin and says, “Thanks Peg, for the talk and the problem solving. Sometimes I just need a swift kick upside the head to get me out of this mental funk I seem to get in lately.”

She nods and smiles and pats his shoulder.  
He stands and clears his throat. He grabs his coffee cup and chugs the rest of it, then walks over to the sink and rinses it out and puts it in the rack. “Now, I need to see what all Joe has grabbed and see how he is doing and if there’s enough room in the truck for everything. Can you find Henry and have him inquire about getting the board and letters made for Sunshine? Also have Soph find out about whether or not Sunshine would like a dog to keep her company. Maybe between the two of you, you could find out things she likes: favourite colors, foods, flowers, etc. You know us men, we need hints for gifts sometimes…” Boaz winks. 

Peg busts out laughing. “Oh Boaz, are you trying to figure out what to give her???!!!!” she says and smiles back at him. He smirks and winks and raises an eyebrow as if asking, “Well???” She chuckles and says, “I will see what we can find out an make you men a list. Don’t forget she will eventually need clothes to wear at the cabin once she is able to get up and move around. I don’t think it would be a good idea for her to wear Abbie’s stuff. Might be awkward for her and hard on you to see another woman wearing them.”

He thinks for a minute and then nods.

“Peg, could you and Sophie figure out what size she is and maybe we can pool resources and get her a new wardrobe?” He makes a mental note to clear out all of Abbie’s clothes and put them in that storage barn in the empty trunks when they get back.

Peg nods and stands to go check on Sunshine and Sophie. “I’d best be getting back to check up on those two. You coming to check on Joe?” She asks him.   
“In a few minutes, I will. You go on ahead. I want to finish eating and think some more.” If you see Joe, tell him I’ll be out to the truck in about 15 minutes and to meet me there.”   
“Ok, Bo. Don’t dilly dally too long though. Time’s a wasting and it’ll be dark before you know it. We still need to come up with the list of medical supplies you will need.”   
Boaz nods. “I will come meet with you to discuss that after I’m done with Joe.” He says. She nods and walks out the doorway to go check on Sunshine and Sophie. 

Boaz watches her leave. Then starts to think about his home and where he was going to have everything placed to take care of Sunshine there. He hadn’t been in his and his wife’s room since her death, other than to get his clothes and toiletries moved into the guest bedroom, and the day he and Henry took the mattress out to burn. He had bought a new mattress for the bed, but just couldn’t bring himself to sleep in that huge bed anymore. So, he had been sleeping on the single bed in what was the guest bedroom that would’ve been Faith’s someday, had she lived.

He supposed it would be easier to have the woman stay in his old bedroom. It was bigger and the sun came in nicely in the morning. It would be easier to have most of the medical equipment in there too. He would just need to get Abbie’s things out of there. Maybe he could ask Peg to gather those things and get the room dusted and cleaned before they bring Sunshine to the cabin.

The next thing he pondered was what was he going to give her for a peace offering? He had already told her he’d get her a pad of papers and some pencils. Maybe she could try drawing with them? He doubted it, but perhaps once the casts come off, she might want them to write and draw with using her right hand. It might be good therapy for her. 

“Peg said she will need clothes.” He reminded himself. He HATED clothes shopping. Abbie always did that kind of stuff as she had better sense of fashion than he did. “Maybe I could ask Dan if he would be ok with the idea of me taking Sophie with to the store and have her help me pick out clothes for Sunshine? Sophie always knows where to get neat things and LOVES fashion. She would know what would look good on the woman and would make her feel comfortable in her own skin once more. Maybe she could show me where she got that blue blanket. It would be nice to have one on the bed for Sunshine at the cabin so Sophie could have hers back.?” He thought. 

“What is she going to do to keep herself entertained at the cabin?” He thought. “It’s going to be painful for her to sit for too long, and it’s going to be painful for her to try to lie on her back for too long. She isn’t going to be able to walk for at least 6-8 weeks and can’t use her right arm for crutches since it too is in a cast. Hmmmm. Guess we’ll need a wheelchair with a good seat and back cushions if she is going to move around the cabin. She’s gonna go stir crazy if she is confined to one room!” 

“What do women like to do to keep busy in situations like that? She isn’t talking, so it will be hard for her if people come to visit. Does she like to read? Will she even be able to read with her one eye damaged from the beating? Maybe I can make her a bird house and some feeders to hang by the window so she can look out and watch them. There are a lot of different ones around the cabin. Deer and other critters too.”

Suddenly he has a list of other things he wants to get for her to help her feel more comfortable in his home. He smiles to himself and stands and decides to go find Joe and see how much room is left in his truck’s bed. Maybe Henry would be willing to take some of it in his truck with the medical supplies. 

He decided to write a “To Do” list so he wouldn’t forget anything:  
_1\. Meet with Joe, space available in truck bed?_  
 _2\. Meet with Peg, list of medical supplies for cabin to put in Henry’s truck._  
 _a. Will need a wheelchair for Sunshine to get around cabin_  
 _b. Will need at least one more blood transfusion for Sunshine._  
 _3\. Ask Peg if she would pack up Abbie’s things out of the bedroom and clean it for Sunshine to stay in._  
 _4\. Find out if Sunshine is afraid of Dogs._  
 _a. If not, get dog supplies. (leash, food, bowls and toys)_  
 _b. Ask Henry & Peg to bring dog over for trial run in two days after Sunshine gets settled._  
 _5\. Get Sunshine a notepad/ drawing pad and pencils_  
 _6\. Get clothes for Sunshine._  
 _7\. Ask Sophie where she got the blue blanket Sunshine likes._  
 _8\. Get bird food, plans and supplies for building bird houses and bird feeders._  
 _9\. Ask Sunshine if she would like some books to read._  
 _10\. Ask Peg, Sophie, Amy & Mame for suggestions of things Sunshine could do to keep herself entertained in the state she will be in for the next 6-8 weeks. _

He felt satisfied he had covered all the bases. He pocketed his list and got up to go meet with Joe. Just as he stood, Joe popped into the room. And grinned. “Hey, Bo! I hope you don’t mind, but I rearranged some stuff in the truck bed to fit better and you have a whole lot more room now for supplies!!!”

Bo looked up at him in surprise. “Really?” Bo asked.

Joe smirked. “Yup! Want to come see?” Boaz grins and nods. 

They head out to the truck and Bo is shocked to see that there is almost half of a truck load left open now. “Where did you put it all?” He asked.

“It’s all there, Bo, but the way you had loaded it you left lots of spaces between things that didn’t need the space, so I condensed everything and rearranged it so it fit in there better.” He was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Bo looks at him and says, “Wow! That’s great! Hey, do you want to help me with some stuff?”

Joe nods, “Sure, what did you have in mind?” 

Bo reminds him that the woman is awake now, and how she reacted to him when she saw him. He explained about Peg’s suggestion of ‘Peace offerings’ to show the woman they wish her well and not harm; and how they are going to have to earn her trust since she is so afraid of men. He explains to Joe about how she isn’t talking and needs an easy way to communicate since it is hard for her to write since her dominant arm is in a cast. He describes the letter box that Peg suggested and explained it would work like those of a typeset used for printing presses, only the letters would be facing the right way around and the type would be set from left to right. 

Joe tells him that he has a friend who could make it and he knows someone else who actually works at a printing press in town. He suggests they go talk to his friend and get an idea of how many of each letter she will probably need so she doesn’t run out mid sentence. Bo tells him to go ahead and do that and to find Henry, that he might be willing to help with it too. 

Just then Dan comes walking over as they stand by the truck and talk. “Hey, Bo, they finally let you escape the hospital for a while?” he teases.

Bo looks up and grins. “Yeah, have some things I need to get yet, before we head to the cabin early tomorrow morning. I want to head out when it’s still dark so the townsfolk don’t see us leave and start talking."

Dan and Joe nod. “Well what all do you need to get yet, maybe we can split up the list and it’ll go faster.” Dan suggests. Bo nods, and shows them the list, and scratches out #1.

_~~1\. Meet with Joe, space available in truck bed?~~_  
 _2\. Meet with Peg, list of medical supplies for cabin to put in Henry’s truck._  
 _a. Will need a wheelchair for Sunshine to get around cabin_  
 _b. Will need at least one more blood transfusion for Sunshine._  
 _3\. Find out if Sunshine is afraid of Dogs._  
 _a. If not, get dog supplies. (leash, food, bowls and toys)_  
 _b. Ask Henry & Peg to bring dog over for trial run in two days after Sunshine gets settled._  
 _4\. Ask Peg if she would pack up Abbie’s things out of the bedroom and clean it for Sunshine to stay in._  
 _5\. Get Sunshine a notepad/ drawing pad and pencils_  
 _6\. Get clothes for Sunshine._  
 _7\. Ask Sophie where she got the blue blanket Sunshine likes._  
 _8\. Get bird food and plans for building a bird house and bird feeders._  
 _9\. Ask Sunshine if she would like some books to read._  
 _10\. Ask Peg, Sophie, Amy & Mame for suggestions of things Sunshine could do to keep herself entertained in the state she will be in for the next 6-8 weeks. _

“Wow, what’s all this about?” Dan asks pointing to items, 3-10. Bo explains the “Peace offering” idea and explains how Peg suggested he get Sunshine a dog if she isn’t afraid of them, and that she knows of the Belgian Malinois-Siberian Husky dog that someone is needing to rehome. 

Dan smiles, “I know that dog! He’s really a great, well behaved dog! I think he would take to Sunshine really well. He seems to have an intuition for when people are hurting and upset. He is great with kids too. Really patient with them! Hahaha did she tell you he looks like a shaggy, grey wolf?!? I even saw him let a baby crawl all over him and tug on his fur and ears, and he just let her do it. But I’ve also seen him get protective when some boys were picking on one of the family’s little ones too. He didn’t attack but did start growling and his heckles raised up. He looked scary when he did that. But he minded his owner and didn’t attack, though if the owner would’ve told him it was ok to, I doubt he would not have hesitated to shred those bullies to bits! I wouldn’t want to be the one to piss him off and end up on the receiving end of those teeth!” 

Bo looked at Joe concerned, “Don’t worry, Bo, the dog is WELL trained to be a guard dog! The family who owned him was the loan officer at the bank. He lost his job recently due to the financial state of this country and the bank decided his services were no longer needed. So, they are moving back to his hometown somewhere in Colorado, I believe. They don’t have the heart to take him on such a long trip so they are looking for someone to take him, no charge. He is in good health and they have all his papers and such.” 

“Well us taking him, will depend ENTIRELY on whether Sunshine likes dogs or if she is afraid of them.” Boaz says, rubbing his chin.

Dan nods. “What about the rest of the list?”

_5\. Get Sunshine a notepad/ drawing pad and pencils_  
 _6\. Get clothes for Sunshine._  
 _7\. Ask Sophie where she got the blue blanket Sunshine likes._  
 _8\. Get bird food and plans for building a bird house and bird feeders._  
 _9\. Ask Sunshine if she would like some books to read._  
 _10\. Ask Peg, Sophie, Amy & Mame for suggestions of things Sunshine could do to keep herself __entertained in the state she will be in for the next 6-8 weeks._

“That was me trying to get thoughts into order. I need to get Sunshine that notepad/drawing pad and pencils, and Peg said she will eventually need clothes and suggested we NOT use Abbie’s as it would be too awkward for the both of us. I also wanted to get Sunshine one of those blankets like the one Sophie is letting her use.” Bo explains. 

Dan stops him, “Wait, Soph let her use that blue super soft blanket?!?” Dan exclaims, surprised. “That’s the one that was on her lap when we last saw her?!? Sophie’s favourite blanket?!? _ **I**_ can’t even use it!!!” Dan exclaims.   
Boaz and Joe burst out laughing! “Yes, Dan, THAT blanket, Sophie has it draped over the lap of the woman. She has deemed the woman’s name is Sunshine, since the woman doesn’t remember her name right now.” Boaz explains. 

Dan shakes his head in disbelief. “Dan, you saw how fast Sunshine calmed down when Sophie shoved the corner of that blanket in her hand. She was rubbing her thumb on that blanket the whole time I sat and talked to her. She freaked out when she first saw me but calmed down pretty quickly between Sophie talking to her and letting her use the blanket. I thought it would be nice to get Sunshine her own one in her favourite color so Sophie can have hers back, but I need to find out where Soph got it from.” Bo says. Dan chuckles. 

“I can ask her for you. What’s the woman’s favourite color?” he asks. Boaz shrugs, “I’m not sure. I asked Peg if she can have Sophie find out some of the woman’s favourties so we have an idea of colors, smells, foods, she likes.

Dan nods. “Ok, So what else?”

“Bo, what’s with the bird food and birdhouse plans?” Joe asks.

“Well, I got to thinking that since she is going to be laid up for 6-8 weeks in those casts, she is probably going to get bored staring at the bedroom ceiling. I thought I’d build some bird houses and bird feeders to hang by the windows so she can either lay in bed and watch the birds or sit by the window when she feels up to it and watch them.” Boaz explains, unsure of what his friends will think. 

“That’s cool!” says Joe, “Swell idea! My mom used to do that back home. She called it ‘birding’. She knew all about a whole lot of different kinds of birds. Some even ate animal fat (suet) mixed with bird seed that she stuffed into a special bird feeder my Pa made for her. It’s neat to hear all the different sounds they can make! It’ll keep Sunshine entertained for hours!”

Boaz smiled, relieved that it didn’t sound like a dumb idea.

“I can get that stuff for you, Bo, Ma taught me a lot about feeding and making homes for the different kinds of birds. I’d be happy to teach you if you want.” Joe offers. Boaz nods and smiles at Joe. "Thanks, Joe. That would be swell."

Dan chuckles. “Well, I guess that takes care of most of the list. All ya got left is #’s 9 and 10, Bo. Want me to take care of 10 for you? I can go over and ask Mame and Amy for ideas if you want and have them write them down.”   
Bo looks up at him and his face brightens, “Yeah, that would be great, Dan! Thanks! Hey, I was going to ask you, would you mind if I took Sophie with me this afternoon to shop for clothes for Sunshine? I have no sense of fashion according to Abbie and I have no idea what women need for toiletries.”

They all laugh, “Naah, I don’t mind, Bo. Go ahead and take her shopping. But don’t be afraid to put your foot down if she starts spending a lot. She loves to shop until it comes time to pay the bill!” They all laugh hard at that one and Dan slaps Bo on the back. I hope you have deep pockets yet, my friend.”

Boaz laughs, "I have enough."

“Well I had better go check on the ladies and see if I can get that list of medical supplies that I’m going to need done with Sophie and Peg before it gets much later. Can you guys go check on the things we discussed and meet back here at 7pm?” They nod. “Ok, Bo, See you at 7pm.” They said, and each man went to do their tasks. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More chapters are coming! Don't worry. :)  
> thanks for reading!!!


	20. Likes and Dislikes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So their mystery woman, Sunshine, as she is nicknamed, starts to communicate with the nurses who are caring for her. They find out things she likes and dislikes, and Peggy gives Bo the list.   
> They realize that they need to get her some toiletries and supplies if she is going to be staying at Bo's cabin to be kept safe till her attacker is found. Peg helps Bo come up with a list of stuff to get and Sophie leaves with Bo to go shopping for Sunshine.

Chapter 20   
“LIKES AND DISLIKES”

  
The woman closes her eye after watching Dr. Abram leave. Sophie quietly hummed as she worked on the woman’s right hand’s fingers. Shaping the nails first, then coating them in several coats of nail polish. Quietly, she asks if her humming is bothering the woman, who shakes her head “no”. 

The battered woman lays there listening to Sophie hum and tries to think about what all the doctor had said to her. She is SO tired though and hurts so bad that she finds it hard to concentrate. She doesn’t notice when Sophie props a pillow under the arm and moves over to the other side of the bed and starts working on the other hand. The woman finally falls into a sound sleep, oblivious to everything around her. She doesn’t hear when Peg comes in and listens to her heartbeat and breathing with her stethoscope, nor does she hear Peg’s conversation with Sophie regarding what Bo wants her and Sophie to find out from the battered woman. 

When she does wake up, it’s because she is hungry. Sophie is there, sitting on her left side, reading a fashion magazine. The battered woman lets out a quiet groan when she tries to shift positions in the bed. Sophie quickly looks over and notices she is awake. She jumps up, which startles the woman a bit. Sophie apologizes for scaring her and asks if she wants some help. The woman nods and tries to pantomime that she wants to sit up more, and that she is hungry. Sophie doesn’t understand right away, but when the woman tries to sit up more again, and grimaces, she finally understands and raises the head end of the bed more.   


The battered woman wonders how long she slept for but can’t see a clock anywhere. Just then Sophie asks if she likes the way her fingernails turned out. She looks at her left hand and admires how pretty they look. She gives Sophie a half smile trying to only use the left side of her face and nods. She shifts again and a pillow moves out of place and she groans and rolls her eye. Sophie chuckles and grabs the pillow and adjusts it for the woman, so she is more comfortable.

Sophie tells her, “I got bored and did your toenails too. I hope you don’t mind. Now they match your fingers! She gently pulls the blanket from the woman’s feet and the woman tries to lift her head to see, but the pain is too much, and she groans. Sophie immediately apologizes and helps to find a more comfortable position so she can see her feet. She props the woman up as much as she can be with the pillows. The battered woman nods when she is finally comfortable and can admire her toes. She wiggles her left foot’s toes and makes Sophie giggle.

She runs her fingers over the blue blanket again, admiring how soft it is. “So, you like my super soft blue blanket?” Sophie asks her and she nods. “Dan is going to be SO mad at me!” Soph giggles, “Do you know why?” The woman shakes her head. “Cuz I NEVER let him use this blanket, EVER. He isn’t even allowed to touch it.” She giggles again. 

The woman smirks and raises her eyebrow. “Yes, I know. It’s silly. You looked so scared and upset laying in the bed the each time you woke up and when you clobbered Dr. Abram with your cast that I thought it might help you feel better to have something soft to comfort you. “Do you like soft things in general?” Sophie asks with a smile. The woman nods again. “Would you like me to get you a blanket like this?” The woman’s eye gets big and she nods excitedly.   
“Blue is my favourite color. Can you tell me what yours is?” Sophie asks her. Ruth thinks for a minute then looks around the room to see if it is in the room. She doesn’t see it. Then she sees the magazine that Sophie was reading and gets an idea. She points at the magazine. Sophie picks it up and puts it in her lap. The woman flips through the pages till she finds a woman in a beautiful royal purple evening gown with white fur trim. She points at the purple dress and looks up at Sophie and half smiles.   
Sophie looks at the pretty dress and then at the woman. “Is purple your favourite color?” she asks with a smile. The woman nods, her eye twinkling.

“That’s a pretty color and this is also a pretty winter dress.” The woman nods again. “Do you have any clothes somewhere that we can pick up for you?” Sophie asks her. The woman’s face falls and she sighs, and grabs her ribcage, grimacing. She shakes her head “no”.   
“Aww, Sunshine, I’m sorry. Do you know what size clothes you wear?” The woman looks at her and shrugs with her one good shoulder. “Hmmmm. Well maybe Peg can help me take your measurements and I can take them with me and go shopping for you. Would you be okay with that?” The woman looks at her in disbelief. Her eye wide and her mouth open. She doesn’t know what to say. She can’t remember the last time someone went and bought her brand-new clothes. Tears form in her eye and she nods.  


“Oh, honey, don’t cry!” Sophie says. “Haven’t you been shopping at all lately?” The woman shakes her head, “no”. Well, I tell you what, I will go shopping and get you a bunch of new clothes to last you till you can start walking on your own. Then I’ll take you shopping for a whole day and we can go get manicures, and pedicures, and our hair and makeup done and get you a whole new wardrobe. You’ll feel like a whole new woman! The folks here are real nice and if you decide to stay here and start over, they will welcome you with open arms.” 

The battered woman could hardly believe her ears. Shopping for a whole day?!? Manicures and pedicures and hair and makeup done?!? How does this woman think it will all be paid for? She gives the woman a half smile and shakes her head in wonder.   


Suddenly her belly lets out a loud grumble letting them know it has been left empty for far too long. Sophie laughs as the mystery woman’s face gets red from embarrassment. “Oh, Sweetheart! You’re hungry! Do you remember when you ate last? They brought you in around 9:30 last night.” The woman tried to remember, but she couldn’t. She shakes her head, “no”.   
“Ok, I’ll go get you something. I’ll be right back.” Sophie says and she leaves to go find Peg at the desk. 

“Peg, she is awake, and her tummy is hungry.” Sophie says. “But she doesn’t remember when she last ate.” Sophie informs Peg.

“Soph, go run over to Happy Louie’s and ask Mame if she has any soup broth she can spare for the gal. Tell her I’ll come pay for it when we get done here for the day. Just tell her it’s for a patient. Nothing more. We don’t want to let anyone know about Sunshine yet.” Said Peg.   
“Ok, will you sit with her till I get back?” Sophie asks. “Yes, just let me flag down someone to man the desk here. Sara? Can you come take care of the desk? I need to go sit with a patient till Sophie gets back.” Peg called out to a nurse who was passing by. 

“Sure thing Peg.” She replied.

So Peg went to sit with Sunshine while Sophie went to get soup broth from Happy Louie’s. 

Peg walks into the room and sees Sunshine propped up in her bed and she is looking at a magazine Sophie had left on her bed. She looks up when she sees Peg walk in and gives her a half smile.

“How are you doing, Sweetheart?” Peg asks her.   
She gives Peg a one shouldered shrug.

“Mind if I listen to your heart and lungs again?” Peg asks her. Sunshine shakes her head “no”. So Peg comes over and puts her stethoscope on. She warms the metal disk and then places it on Sunshine’s chest just above the hospital gown she is wearing. She asks Sunshine to take slow breaths as deep as she can without causing pain, and then let them out slowly. Sunshine does and grimaces the first time cuz she took too deep of a breath. 

Peg nods and moves the disc to the other side. She lifts up a section of the bandage and pulls it apart enough to slide the metal disc in and place it to listen to the other lung. She has Sunshine repeat the breaths. She nods when all she hears is the clear crackling of the ribs moving. “Well I think we caught the pneumonia in time! Your lungs are clearing of the fluid that had built up.” Peg smiles at her as she replaces the bandage to it’s proper place. 

“Sophie says you don’t remember when you ate last. So I sent her to go get some soup broth for you. I guess I should’ve had her come ask you if there are any you do not like. Or what your favourite is. I’m sorry I didn’t think of it until after she left. Can you tell me, is there any soups you do not like?” Sunshine thinks for a minute. She can’t remember. So she just gives a one shoulder shrug. “No preferences?” Peg asks. Sunshine shakes her head, “No”.

Peg smiles. “Good! Do you have any favourite foods?” she asks. Sunshine thinks for a minute. Then nods. “What is your favourite food?” Peg asks. Sunshine frowns and looks around trying to figure out how to explain it without talking. Peg notices Sunshine frowning and looking around. 

“Would you like me to grab your clipboard and notepad and a pencil?” Sunshine sighs, grabs her ribs and then nods. Peg hands them to her from off of a side table. She helps Sunshine get the pencil comfortable in her left hand and then holds the clipboard at an angle like she had seen Boaz do earlier. 

Sunshine writes: _pigs in a blanket. + Strawberry sauce & scrambled eggs._

Peg looks at it and chuckles. “You know you kind of looked like one when you got here?” Sunshine looked up at her and nodded. She remembered thinking that she felt like one when she first woke up on the side of the road. 

“Can you write down some of your favourite things that you can remember liking?” Peg asks curiosity spurring her on. 

Sunshine thinks for a minute, then nods, and thinks again. She writes: _purple, bonfires, dogs, cats, horses, carnations, lilacs, crocuses, daffodils, Tall oak trees, birdsongs, wheat swaying in breeze, reading, music, soft things like blanket, hugs, forehead kisses, smell of rain, drawing and painting_. 

Peg’s eyes get wide. “You like dogs?” she asks excitedly.

Sunshine looks up at her and nods, then flips the paper up and over the clipboard. She writes: _depends on the dog_. 

Peg asks, “Do you think you’d feel safer if you had a nice, friendly dog who looks like a grey wolf? My friend has one she needs to find a new home for. They are moving and can’t take him with. He is part Belgian Malinois and part Siberian Husky. He was their guard dog for the family, and we’ve known him since he was a puppy. He is well trained too.” 

Sunshine looks at her in disbelief. She thinks about it for a minute and then raises an eyebrow and shrugs. Peg asks, “Would you like to see him sometime when you get out of the hospital? I could have my husband bring him over.”

Sunshine scrunches her left side of her face. “I will come with if it makes you feel better, Honey.” Sunshine nods. “Ok, I will let my friend know. She will be happy to see him go to a good home.” Sunshine smiles a half smile. 

“You like to read?” Peg asks Sunshine as she flips back to the favourite list. Sunshine nods.   
“What do you like to read?” Sunshine holds up the magazine and then takes the pencil and tries to get it where she had it to write. Peg helps her and then holds the clipboard again.   
Sunshine flips the paper back and writes: _read almost anything. Romance, fiction, poetry, westerns, history, art, theater/plays, scripture._

Peg looks down and nods, smiling.   
“Are you able to read ok with just the one eye right now?” she inquires.

Sunshine writes: _kind of. Eye has to work harder though. Head aches after while._

Peg nods. “Does it hurt now?”

Sunshine holds up her left hand and brings her thumb and pointer finger close together indicating “a little”.

Peg takes the pencil and sticks it in the clipboard. She sets the magazine under it and leaves it next to the woman’s leg.   
“Then close your eye, and I’ll get you a cool washcloth to put over your eyes. Just rest till Sophie comes back with the soup. Ok?” Peg tells her as she gets up and grabs a clean washcloth out of the cabinet and wets it with cold water from the washstand. She wrings it out and puts it on the woman’s eyes. 

“If you want something for the pain after you get done eating, tell me or Sophie or Dr. Abram and we’ll get you something for it. Ok?” Sunshine nods slightly.   
“I’ll be close by, so if you need anything just make some noise and I’ll come over.” Sunshine nods again and then rests. 

A little while later Sophie comes back with the soup for Sunshine. Peg gets up and walks over to the bed. She gently picks up the washcloth off of Sunshine’s forehead and eyes. 

Sunshine startles and opens her eye. She squints at the light till her eye adjusts. She sees Peg and Sophie standing there. Sophie is smiling and has the bowl of chicken noodle soup on a tray with a few crackers and some honey-lemon tea for her. Sunshine grins and then grimaces at the pain. 

Peg chuckles and says, “Now sip the broth and take it slow. We don’t want to tax your system since we don’t know how long it’s been since you ate last. Go easy on the noodles and crackers till we can gauge how your system tolerates the liquids ok?” Sunshine nods. Peg swings the bedside table around, so it crosses in front of Sunshine’s body. Since she was already propped up in a sitting position, they don’t have to do much adjusting. Sophie helps her eat and drink. 

Peg tells them that when they are done, they will need to change bandages and clean the wounds again. Both Sophie and Sunshine groan, knowing how much pain that causes. Peg chuckles and tells them she will be in the break room if they need anything.  
Peg walks to the break room and goes to get coffee. She realizes the pot is empty so she dumps out the old coffee grounds and makes a new batch of coffee. While she is pouring in the water, she sees Boaz poke his head in and look around. He spots her and comes in.

“Well, Joe reorganized everything in my truck’s bed and made room for more stuff. He knows some people who he thinks can make the letter box for Sunshine. I told him to take Henry and go talk to them and see if they will make it for her.” Boaz beams.   
“Good!” says Peg. “I have good news too.” She says.   
He quirks an eyebrow and tilts his head. “Do tell!” He chuckles.

Peg hits the brew button on the coffee maker then sits down at the table.  
Peg tells him how she got Sunshine to write a list of her favourite things. And she pulls the list out of her apron pocket. “I tore them off when I was tidying the room as she rested.” She exclaimed, handing him the pages.

He looks down at the pieces of paper with faint feminine writing on them:   
• _pigs in a blanket. + Strawberry sauce_  
 _• purple, bonfires, dogs, cats, horses,_  
 _• carnations, lilacs, crocuses, daffodils,_  
 _• Tall oak trees, birdsongs,_  
 _• wheat swaying in breeze,_  
 _• reading, music,_  
 _• soft things like blanket,_  
 _• hugs, forehead kisses,_  
 _• smell of rain, drawing and painting._

_• depends on the dog_

_• read almost anything:_   
_Romance, poetry, fiction,_ _westerns, history,_ _art, theater/plays,_ _scripture._

_• kind of_   
_• Eye has to work harder though._   
_• Head aches after while._

He looks a bit puzzled at some of the things on the list. Then Peg clarifies for him and explains where they fit into her conversation. Boaz grabs a pen and makes notes next to the woman’s writing. She chuckles. 

He looks up with curious sapphire blue eyes, “What?” he asks.

“You.” She says with a smirk.

He raises an eyebrow.

She chuckles. “It’s nothing Bo, don’t worry. I just haven’t seen you so excited about something for a long time.”

He grins. 

“Now how about we come up with a list of the supplies you’ll be needing, before Sophie comes back in here to drag me away to change the bandages and dressings and clean her wounds again.” Peg says. He looks up at the clock and nods. He goes out to the Nurses’ station and grabs a note pad, then comes back in.

“They are still working on the soup.” He says. She nods.

They spend the next half hour sipping coffee and writing a list of items Boaz will need. And he looks at it and sighs. This is a lot of stuff, Peg. She nods. “Yes, it is. But it’s going to be needed. Especially if we end up getting snowed in up there.”   
He nods and shudders. “Can we get it all packed and loaded in your truck tonight?” He asks her.

“I think so. I’ll start gathering everything up and I’ll call Dan and have him bring some crates over. It’ll be easier to just put it all in crates and then stack the crates in the truck.” He nods.

“We’ll keep the crates in Sunshine’s room till you’re ready to start loading tonight. Do you have everything you need now?” She asks him. 

He shakes his head. I need to take Sophie to get clothes and toiletries for Sunshine and I promised I would get the notepad and pencils for her too. I was going to ask you if you and Henry would take the supplies up to my place tonight and get them set up in the main bedroom.” Boaz says.

“Sure thing Bo, we can do that.” Peg says with a grin.

“The mattress is new and hasn’t been slept on, but the sheets on it as well as everything else in the room is going to be very dusty.” Bo tells her.

She frowns. “Bo, why aren’t you sleeping in there? Where have you been sleeping?”   
He looks down, “I’ve been staying in the guest room. I took all my stuff out of the main bedroom after she died, and Henry helped me haul out the old mattress to burn. I just couldn’t bring myself to sleep in that big bed all alone, Peg.  
I left all of her stuff in there right where she had left it. I just shut the door and haven’t been back in there since we hauled in the new mattress and put sheets on top of it.” He said quietly. 

“Oh Boaz!” She hugs him. “Are you going to have her stay in that room then?”

He nods.

“Would you like me to pack up all Abbie’s stuff and store it somewhere for you, so you don’t have to look at it while you’re taking care of Sunshine?” 

He looked up at her with sad, pleading eyes. “Would you Peg? I just can’t bear to do it yet. You can put the stuff in the empty cedar trunks in the storage barn.” She nods.

“Well we have about an hour till sunset. The clothes shopping can wait till she is up and about more and doesn’t have to have bandages changed every few hours. Here, I will make a list for you of the toiletries she will want. Go buy them and the notepad and pencils and maybe pick out some magazines and a few books for her, take Sophie with if you like. Then hurry back so we can pack up all the medical supplies. He nodded.

Peg writes a quick list: _hair brush, hair comb, lilac or Palmolive body soap, shampoo, conditioner, night gown, slippers, house coat, DEW deodorant, toothpaste & toothbrush, hair pins, two-sided mirror, perfume *don’t forget the notepad, pencils, a few magazines, and a few books!_

She hands him the shopping list and Sunshine’s favourites list. He looks at it and says, “Yup, taking Sophie for a bit. Can you sit with Sunshine till we come back?”

Peg chuckles. “I figured you would. I will sit with Sunshine. Now shoo!” She laughs as they walk out the door and to the woman’s hospital room. 

“I will change the bandages when you two get back. Might need you both to help anyway. Bo, you’ll want to see how we figured the best way to bandage her now that she’s awake anyway.” 

He scrunches up his face and she chuckles, “You’re gonna have to do it at SOME point, Bo. Soph and I can’t be there 24 / 7 you know. She will eventually trust you to do it without us there. Just give her time to get used to you. She smiles. 

They reach the door and Sophie is just clearing away the side table from in front of Sunshine. She is sleeping and her head is propped with a pillow on the left side that is resting against the bedrail. Sunshine’s face is tilted to the side and resting on the pillow. She has the blue blanket tightly clutched in her left hand. Her auburn hair is all over the pillows behind her head and it looks like it’s glowing slightly under the dim lighting. 

Boaz stops in the door and just stares. Peg, who had gone in ahead of him turns to look when she sees Sophie chuckling and looking at Bo. Peg turns and sees the look on Bo’s face. It’s somewhere between love struck and pity. She chuckles and clears her throat as she turns back and shoots Sophie a look. Bo snaps out of it and takes a few ginger steps towards the bed not wanting to upset the woman. 

Sophie whispers to him, “Don’t worry, Bo, she’s asleep.” He looks at Soph and she winks at him and smirks. Bo can feel heat in his face and groin. He’s pretty sure his face is beet red.

He gets a funny look on his face thenclears his throat quietly, and in a whisper, asks her if she would join him to shop for toiletries for Sunshine. She nods excitedly and quickly puts things away and takes the dirty dishes. “Can we bring these back to Mame too?” she asks.

He nods.

“Let me go get my purse and clock out for supper.” she says with a grin. He nods and waits for her to come back. 

Bo walks a little closer to the bed and looks at Sunshine’s bruised face and quietly asks Peg if she would put another cool pack on the woman’s face over her right eye to try to get more of the swelling down. She nods and goes to get one while he stands there. He backs up and sits in the chair by the window, not wanting to frighten her by being so close if she woke up. Peg comes back in, tilts the head of the bed back slightly, and carefully places the ice pack wrapped in a cloth over her eye and props it there with another pillow on the side. The woman doesn’t even flinch or wake up. 

“She’s got a nice, warm, full tummy and is in a nice, deep sleep.” Peg whispers after walking back over to Bo. “Hopefully she will get some much-needed rest now.”

He nods. 

“Bo, how are you going to tell her about moving her to the cabin tonight?”

He looks up at Peg. “I’m not sure. I think I’ll just tell her the truth and give her the choice of being awake for it or we can give her some Pernocton to make her sleep and not feel anything till we get her to the cabin.   
I was thinking of introducing the guys to her one at a time before we leave and letting them talk to her for a little bit, if she is willing. Just to introduce them and let her know they won’t hurt her. Hopefully it will help things go smoother.”

She nods. “I think that would be wise.” 

Just then Sophie pops back in and whispers, “Bo I’m ready now.” He nods and gets up. “See you in a bit, Peg.”

Bo takes the tray from Sophie, offers her his elbow, and they head over to Happy Louie’s, to return the dishes and then shop at the Woolworths department store to get the toiletries and reading material for Sunshine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are you liking it so far?   
> There are more chapters in the works, so don't worry.
> 
> Thanks for continuing to read my work!!!


	21. "SHOPPING"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boaz and Sophie go shopping for supplies and gifts for Sunshine.

Chapter 21   
“Shopping”

  
Bo and Sophie head over to Happy Louie’s to return the dirty dishes. They walk in and are greeted by Amy and Mame. “Hi Bo! You’re looking a LOT better than you did yesterday. Did Dan and Joe get you home safe?” Amy asks, blushing when she mentioned Joe.

Bo notices her cheeks turn pink and he winks at her. “Well, we got halfway home and discovered something interesting and took a slight detour. Ended back in town where I spent the night.” He says, smirking. 

Mame raises an eyebrow and slightly tilts her head. “What do you mean Bo?” she asks him.   
He grins. “I can’t tell you right now, because it’s a secret.” He says with a teasing voice. “When it’s safe to share it with you, you’ll be the first two to know. Ok?” Mame grins, and Amy pouts. 

Mame turns to Sophie and asks, “Did the patient like the soup?” Sophie hands her the dirty dishes and nods. “Yes, she was very hungry. Poor thing couldn’t remember when she ate last so we thought it’d be safest if we just started her on broth and a little bit of noodles and crackers once we were sure she could keep the broth down ok.” Mame nodded. “Do you need any more of it?” She asks.   
Bo thinks for a minute, then asks Mame, “Could you put some in a thermos for me to take with? I’m headed back and it’s going to be late by the time I get home. I can drop one off in about a half hour or so for you to fill up.” Mame chuckles, “Bo, we have PLENTY of thermoses here from when Louie was younger. You are welcome to borrow one of his. Just bring it back the next time you come to town.”   
Boaz smiles and gives her a little hug. “Thanks, Mame! For everything!” he says with a wink.  
Mame nods.   
“How much do we owe for the bowl and the thermos of soup?” Bo asks her. “$1.25” she says. He chuckles and raises an eyebrow. She says, “It’s a good-sized thermos you’ll get, Bo! Should last you for a couple meals.” He nods and pulls out his wallet and gives her $2.00. “Keep the change, Mame.” He says with a smile.

“Good to see that smile back on your face, Bo. Whatever it is you found last night has you smiling like a cat that got into the milk canister!” He grins, gives her a hug and turns for the door. “We’ll be back to pick up the thermos when we finish shopping. See you in a bit, Ladies.” He says.

Mame and Amy smile and wave as Bo and Sophie walk out the door and into the late afternoon sun.   
They are on their way to the department store when Dan comes running up to them with papers in his hands. Sophie sees the concerned look on his face and asks, “Honey, What’s wrong?” 

Bo stops walking and frowns. “I just got word from a sheriff in the next county over that the men we are looking for have been seen driving near the East Glacier which is only about an hour from here. He said they had recently been spotted multiple times. The day before they were seen in Missoula, where they had rented a motel and then ditched it this morning, then they were spotted in the northern Powell and Lewis & Clark counties around noon and again in the Teton and Pondera counties. Their last known whereabout was in East Glacier.

They appear to be backtracking, I suspect they are heading for St. Mary’s to re-drive the route they took, and are looking for someone, stopping in different towns’ hospitals and clinics. They are asking around if anyone has seen their ‘sister’. The description they give matches our Sunshine. They are telling people her husband beat her and she took off to get away from him. They have been going to the clinics and hospitals searching for her, so they must’ve overheard someone talking that we found a woman on that road and they probably assumed we took her to the closest hospital or clinic!” 

Boaz’s face goes white. “Shit! We gotta get moving! How much time do you think we have to get her out, Dan?” Boaz asks. “The sheriff said they were last seen about an hour and a half to two hours from here and were headed in our direction! But like I said, they are stopping in towns and checking hospitals and clinics looking for her. He said they are spending anywhere from a half hour to a couple hours in each town. So that gives us anywhere from 1.5-4 hours” Dan replies. Boaz’s eyes get huge! 

“Damn It!!! Ok, Sophie, you get back to the hospital, help Peg pack up the items on the list we made. Dan, you go find Joe and Henry and fill them in, ask them to get as many crates and boxes as they can over to the Hospital so Peg and Sophie can pack the hospital items up that we’ll need at the cabin. Have them start loading Henry’s truck via the back door as soon as each crate is filled. I’m going to head over to the department store and pick up the few things we’ll need for Sunshine and then head back to Louie’s to get the thermos of broth I asked for so Sunshine has something to eat if she gets hungry again while we get her settled in.” Boaz says as he rubs his forehead and temples. 

“Sophie where did you get the super soft blanket? I wanted to get one for Sunshine only in purple?” He asks.   
“I got it from the department store up on the second floor near the back where they have the bedding and linens.” She replied.   
He nods. “Thanks, you two. Now let’s get moving! I want Peg and Henry to be leaving town within an hour and a half. We’ll leave about a half hour to 45 minutes after that. Tell Peg and Henry to leave as soon as their truck is ready to go! Sophie and Dan, you stay with Sunshine. Dan, here are my keys for my truck. Have Joe drive it following us when we leave. I’m going to stay in the back with Sunshine.” Both Dan and Sophie nod and the three take off in three separate directions.

***************

Dan runs over to the Jailhouse where he last saw Henry and Joe discussing the box of letters for Sunshine. They are still sitting at the desk talking it over with Joe’s friend, Willie. Dan comes in and they look up as he bursts into the office. “Come on you two. Our evening plans have been bumped to NOW!” Joe and Henry look at each other and nod. Joe’s friend looks confused. Joe looks at him and says to go ahead with the box as they discussed, and he will check in with him tomorrow or the next day.   
The friend nods and heads out. Dan waits till the man is out of the building and then fills in Joe and Henry with what is going on. 

“Shit!” Joe says, “Those bastards are looking for trouble. Don’t they realize the law is looking for them?”   
Henry smirks, “They are FINALLY slipping up and getting careless, and bigtime!!! So much for them staying out of sight. They must either be worried she is going to rat them out or they need her for something else.”   
Dan nods and says, “But we don’t have time to deal with them at the moment. We HAVE TO get Sunshine out of here with in the next two hours BEFORE they get into town!” 

“Why?” Joe asks, “If we arrest them, then she won’t have to be moved.” Dan looks at him and says, “We don’t know for sure when or if they will come here and right now, they aren’t in our county. We can’t arrest them until they do something illegal that gives us a reason to pick them up off the street. 

"Bo doesn’t want to risk her safety playing a ‘what if” game. The sheriff I spoke to says the older one is armed, and they stay in the town for a few hours looking for the ‘sister’ and asking around if people have seen her. So, if they are on the move and come here, they’ll be here for at least a couple hours, which gives us time to catch them while Sunshine is safe at Boaz’s.” Dan explains.

The other men nod, and Dan tells them to go collect boxes and crates and to bring them over to the back of the hospital along with Henry’s truck. “Just be careful, Joe, don’t need you getting hurt since you’re down a pint of blood, just take it easy. If you start feeling dizzy or anything tell one of us and we’ll take over while you rest.” Joe chuckles and nods, “I doubt I’ll need a rest. But I promise to take it easy.” 

Dan tells Henry to leave with Peg for Boaz’s place as soon as the crates are packed, loaded into the truck and the truck is ready. Henry nods. 

“Henry, how will you get into the cabin?” Joe asks him. Henry smirks. “We know where Bo has a key hidden for emergencies.”   
Joe nods.

“Ok, you guys, get going!” Dan hisses. “We only have a couple hours before Bo wants to be leaving and Henry and Peg need to be gone before Bo leaves!” The three men make a mad dash out the door and Dan locks it on his way out. He walks over to the hospital, checks in with Peg and helps Joe and Henry unload empty boxes and crates, then heads to the department store and goes to find Bo.

******************************

Boaz walks into the department store and pulls out the list. He walks over to the toiletries counter and asks one of the ladies behind the counter, “Miss, could you help me find these things? I have a patient who needs them, and we are in a bit of a hurry.”   
She looks up at him and then down at the list. “Sure, no problem, Bo!” She asks him what scents the woman likes. He looks at the list of favourites that Sunshine had written down and tells her, “She likes the smell of rain, carnations, lilacs, crocuses and daffodils.” She chuckles. “Ok, I can work with that. Do you know what color she prefers?” He looks at the list. “She said her favourite color was purple.” He says as he rubs the back of his neck nervously. 

She nods and starts writing down the list of toiletries. She hands him back his list and tells him that the super soft blankets are up on the 2nd floor near the back wall, the night gown, house coats and slippers are on this floor over in that corner (she points to the corner behind him), and the books and magazines are back in the far corner of the store that way (she points to his right ). He asks her where to find the notepads / journals and drawing pencils. She says they are near the books and magazines. He nods and thanks her. 

She tells him to come back to this counter when he has gotten everything else and she will wrap up all his items and write up a bill for the cashier to make it faster for him to check out.   
He thanks her again and heads to the 2nd floor first. He finds the back wall where the bedding is and asks a clerk where the super soft blankets are and describes the one Sophie had bought. She shows him over to the display hidden in the corner and his jaw drops when he sees the price of them. “I can’t believe Sophie paid THAT MUCH for a blanket!” He thinks to himself. But then he remembers how quickly it calmed Sunshine and decides it’s worth the price. He starts looking for a purple one. He finds one at the bottom of the pile and grabs it. 

Bo heads back down to the main floor and heads to the back corner where the books were. He finds a bound drawing journal and picks out drawing pencils and colored pencils for Sunshine. The clerk suggests a pencil sharpener as well, which he gets.   
As he heads to the books, he hears Dan calling his name as he approaches. Bo turns and stops to wait for Dan. “Did you find Joe and Henry?” he asks Dan. 

“Yup. Got them bringing crates and boxes to Peg and Soph. They are packing and loading as fast as they can. Peg says Sophie will show you how to change the bandages before you leave with the woman.  
Peg explained to Sunshine that they are going to move her someplace safer, quieter and more comfortable and asked her if she would rather be given something to let her sleep as they move her and drive to the new location or if she’d rather be awake for it. Sunshine opted for sleeping through it’s on the condition that Peg or Sophie stays right with her.” Dan reported. 

Boaz smiled. “Good. Here, can you hold these for me? I need to find some books or magazines for Sunshine to look at to give her something to do over the next few weeks if she gets bored.” Dan chuckles and grabs the bundle from Bo.   
Bo digs for the list of likes in his pocket and pulls it out. “Ok, she likes bonfires, dogs, cats, horses, flowers, birdsongs, drawing & painting, poetry, theater/plays, romance stories, fiction, history, art and scripture. Hmmmm.” He says rubbing his jaw.   
Dan chuckles as he watches Bo dig through the books and magazines, tossing a few on top of the pile in his arms. “Poetry, a western, a book about birds of North America, a drawing book, and a magazine about horses. Nice choices. You almost done here Bo?” Dan says as the pile in his arms starts to get a bit heavy. “Yeah, almost. I wanted to find a book on the kind of dog she is getting but I don’t see one here. Can you inquire about one with the library maybe later on this week?” Bo asks Dan.

“Sure thing, Bo.” Dan replies.

Bo walks over and grabs the books and magazine off Dan’s pile.   
They walk over to the other corner of the store where the bathrobes, night gowns and slippers are. Dan chuckles and Bo looks at him with a puzzled expression. 

“What?” he asks Dan.   
Dan just smirks and says, “Never thought I’d see you over here looking for stuff for a woman who isn’t your wife.” 

Bo grimaces. “Dan, really?” He says, “It’s not like Sunshine can do this shopping for herself. I WAS going to have Sophie do this, but Peg needed her to help pack the stuff if her and Henry were going to get out of town in time. 

“True.” Dan nods. “So, which one are you going to get her?” He asks indicating the night gowns. 

Boaz looks at the different night gowns, feeling them for softness. He looks at the flannel ones and grabs a lavender one with blue birds on it. “How about this one?” He asks Dan. “I sense a theme here…” Dan chuckles. “What? She likes Purple!” Boaz defends.   
Dan chuckles again and says, “Get her whatever floats your boat, Bo. You’re going to be the one looking at her in it.” 

Boaz’s face turns pink and Dan busts out laughing. Boaz glares at him and grabs the night gown and spots an emerald green one with little red and yellow maple & oak leaves on it and grabs that too.   
They head over to the house coats and he picks out a deep purple one with hunter green trim. Then they head to the slippers. 

“Shit.” Boaz says, “I didn’t think to ask her shoe size.”   
Dan chuckles. “Well, if it helps, Sophie LOVES these ones. She says they are a ‘one size fits most’ kind of slipper and they are really warm and have little rubber grippers on the bottom, so you don’t slip and fall.”   
Bo looks at them and grabs a deep Purple pair to match the robe. They head back to the toiletries counter where the clerk has everything else on the list boxed up except some perfume that she has sitting next to the box. 

She sees them walk up and takes the bundle from Dan and the books and magazine from Boaz as well as the night gowns, housecoat and slippers.   
“I have everything on the list boxed in this nice gift box for you sir, I just need you to choose which perfume you think she might like. I have three choices here I believe she would like based on what you said her favourite flowers were.” She says.  
Dan smirks and slaps Bo on the back. “Have fun with that one, Bo. I’m going to go check on the guys and see how they are doing. See you back at the Hospital then?” Bo nods and looks a bit bewildered.

Dan chuckles, shakes his head and walks towards the door. 

Bo turns to the clerk and she tells him to spritz a bit on the cardboard tags she set in front of each bottle and then to smell them. While he does this, she writes down the items he picked out on the bill she had already started. She then wraps up the night gowns and places it in a gift box, then does the same for the house coat and slippers. She wraps the books, journal, pencils and magazine in brown paper and ties it with a ribbon and then puts the pencil sharpener in a box and wraps it up too. She puts all the boxes in some paper bags and turns back to Boaz. 

“Have you decided which one she might like?” She asks him. He nods and holds up a lilac scented perfume bottle. “This one.”   
She smiles and puts the bottle in a small box and then sets it in the gift box with the other toiletries. She adds it to the list and then totals the list for him. 

She hands him the bill and he looks at it and groans. She chuckles, and hands him the bags and places a lid on the gift box of toiletries and ties it shut with a ribbon. “Would you like this in a bag too?” She asks him. “Yes, please.” He states. She puts it in a bag and hands it to him too. “I hope your patient feels better soon and enjoys the purchases you made for her.” She says to him.   
He thanks her and heads over to the cashier. He pays for the purchases and then makes a beeline for the hospital. Hoping Peg and Henry haven’t left yet. 

He gets to the back of the hospital just as they were getting in the truck. He hands Peg the bags and says, “Everything on the list should be there. Please put the blanket on the bed so it’s ready for her when we get there.”   
She nods and gives him a wink. “We’ll have it all ready for you Bo. Don’t worry.” He thanks them both and asks them if they remember where the hidden key is. Henry nods and he waves them off. 

Boaz turns to go inside and stops when he sees Joe and Dan giggling. “What’s so funny?” he asks them. “Nuuuuthing.” They both say as they smirk at him. He groans and rolls his eyes at them and heads inside. “Come on you two, lets get her ready to go. Joe, did you get the lumber and birdfeed loaded into my truck? How much room is left?” He says. Joe chuckles. “It’s all loaded, Bo, you won’t get much else in there.” 

“Shit!” Boaz says as he stops and turns. “What’s the matter?” Joe asks. “I forgot to go get the thermos of broth from Mame.” Boaz says. 

“I’ll go get it, Bo.” Says Joe. “Is it already paid for?” he asks. “Yeah, I paid for it already. It’s for Sunshine, but I told Mame it was for me. I don’t want her knowing about Sunshine yet. So don’t say anything about her, ok?” Bo says. 

“Ok Bo. No worries. You want anything else? Something for supper for you? It’s gonna be awful late by the time we get there with her and get her situated. You might not feel up to cooking supper by that time.” Joe says and Boaz nods. “Yeah, why don’t you see if she can make us all something. Tell her you guys are coming over to play cards for the evening or something. I’ll send some cash to pay for it if you want.” Bo replies. “Naah, I got it, Bo. My treat. You go take care of Sunshine.”

Bo nods and thanks Jo. Then he and Dan head for Sunshine’s room and Joe heads out to Happy Louie’s. When Bo and Dan get to the door of the room, they see Sophie talking to Sunshine. But Sunshine doesn’t look too happy. Her good eye is red rimmed, and she is pale. Bo knocks on the door jam and quietly says, “Soph?” Both ladies look up and Sunshine looks scared for a minute but then realizes who is standing at the door. “Is it ok if we come in?” He asks them. Soph looks at Sunshine, who pauses and looks at the two men. Slowly she nods. 

Bo slowly walks in and stands near the foot end of the bed. “You ok, Sweetheart? Something wrong?” He says as he looks between her and Sophie. Sophie quietly says, “She just woke up a little bit ago and had a flashback / nightmare. She is a little out of sorts but should be ok in a little bit.” 

Boaz looks at Sunshine. “Do you want to talk about it? Sometimes it helps you feel better to talk about nightmares. My kid- sister used to get them and would wake me up in the middle of the night crawling into my bed crying cuz she was scared. I’d let her snuggle up to me and we’d talk about it and she eventually would feel better and fall asleep in my arms.” He says quietly and then chuckles. “I would have to try to get up and carry her back to her room without waking up Mum and Dad. It was easy when she was little… not so much when she was a teen!” 

Sophie busts up laughing. So does Dan. Sunshine looks at him and then at Sophie and then sets her eye warily on Dan. She doesn’t see his badge hanging on his jacket and she doesn’t take her eye off of him, unsure who he is and what his intention was.

Sophie sees the odd look on Sunshine’s face and realizes no one ever introduced her to him. 

Sophie stands slowly and walks over to Dan and give him a hug and kiss. Sunshine’s eye gets big and she looks at Sophie unsure what to do. Sophie looks at her and smiles “Sunshine, this is my hubby, Dan. He is Dr. Abram’s best friend and is the Sheriff here in town. See?” she says as she moves his jacket to show Sunshine the badge. “He was with Dr. Abram when they found you last night. He won’t hurt you, honey. You don’t need to be afraid of him. I’m not!” She says with a laugh. 

Dan and Boaz chuckle. “Well I certainly HOPE not!” Dan teases with a big grin as he gives her a kiss on the forehead, then spins her around to face Sunshine, and wraps her in a hug from behind while resting his chin on her shoulder. Sunshine gives a sad half smile when she sees him kiss Sophie’s forehead and embrace Sophie like that. Bo noticed the look and pondered why that made her sad. 

Dan lets go of Soph and slowly walks around the bed to the woman’s left side. He then slowly sits down in the chair that Sophie had been sitting in. “Did Peg tell you that we want to move you someplace safer and more comfortable for you?” he asks Sunshine.   
She nods. “Did Peg explain why?” Sunshine looks at Bo and Soph and then at Dan. She shakes her head, ‘no’. He says, “Do you remember telling Bo about the two men you were with? The one who gave you all these injuries?” He asks her. She nods. 

“Well, we sent out notifications to all the law enforcement in this area asking them to be on the lookout for these two men. One of my Sheriff friends in the next county called me this afternoon saying the men had been spotted. They are stopping in all the towns and asking in the hospitals and clinics trying to get information about a woman matching your description. They are saying she is their sister and her husband beat her up and she ran away from him.” Sunshine’s eye gets huge and she starts shaking her head ‘NO’ and gets very agitated. Dan cringes and looks over to Sophie and Bo.

Sophie goes over to her on the other side of the bed.” Sweetheart, look at me please.” She says as she gently grabs the woman’s face on the left side. “You need to calm down. We aren’t going to let them find you ok? That is why we are moving you tonight. Boaz has a cabin deep in the woods where he and his wife lived before she passed away. Henry and Peg live next door and you will be safe there. Peg is going to stay and take care of you and Henry will be a lookout and will keep you safe.” Sunshine clings to Sophie and looks at her with fear in her eyes. Sophie looks at Dan worriedly.

Sunshine looks at Sophie and then to Dan. Dan nods, and says, “That’s the plan sweetheart. Very few people know where Bo lives. Just me and Sophie, Henry and Peg have ever been there. Joe will come with us tonight so he will know too. I plan to have either me or Joe there during the evenings to give Henry a break. He will have the day shift with you and one of us will have the night shift. Ok?” She looks at Bo for confirmation. He smiles and nods. 

“Peg said she asked you if you’d like to be awake or asleep for the trip there. Is that right?” Bo asks her. She nods. “Do you still want to sleep for the trip? It will take us about two and a half hours to get you loaded into the truck, drive there and get you settled into the cabin.” 

The woman thinks for a minute. Then indicates she wants to write. Bo moves over to the side table and grabs the clip board and pencil. He hands them to her and helps her get the pencil in the right position then holds the clip board for her. She writes: _Will I be in pain if I stay awake?_

She looks up at Boaz and he nods. “Yes, I’m sorry to say, Sweetheart, it will most likely put you in a lot of pain. We drive on the highway for about an hour and a half then turn off on to a bumpy, gravel road and drive on that for another half hour. It can be quite bumpy and will jostle you around quite a bit. I would HIGHLY recommend you sleep for this trip my dear. It will be less taxing on your body if you aren’t feeling the pain of the jostling. Sophie will be with you as will I and Dan, here, will be driving. Joe will follow us in my truck. We will keep you safe, don’t worry.” 

She thinks for a minute then writes: _How will you make me sleep so I don’t feel the pain?_

Bo smiles. “We have a drug called Pernocton that we can inject into your arm that will make you sleep for several hours. I will give it to you before we move you out of here. You fall asleep here and wake up in a nice, soft big bed in my cabin safe and sound. I even have a nice surprise for you there.” He says with a big grin. 

She quirks her eyebrow up at him and he says, “I know you will like it a lot.”   
Sophie giggles. “Yup. You’ll absolutely LOVE it, Sunshine!!!” 

Sunshine thinks for a minute then nods. She writes: _OK. so, when do we leave?_

Boaz looks at Sophie surprised at how easy it was for them to convince the woman, and she glances at the clock. “It’s been about a half hour since Henry and Peg left. We can leave any time Bo.” She says.   
Bo nods. “Give them another 15 minutes and we can start loading her into the truck. If you’re ok with that Sweetheart.” He says, looking down at Sunshine. I will give you the shot in about 10 minutes if that’s what you want to do, Honey.” Sunshine nods. “Ok, Dan, is your truck up by the back door?” Bo asks him.

“No, I left it over at the Jail so it wouldn’t draw attention.” He replied. 

“Go get it and bring it around to the back door. Joe should be back soon with the food and broth.” Bo says.

Dan stands up slowly so as to not frighten Sunshine. He nods to her and says, “See you in a little while, Sweetheart.” And heads for the door to do what Boaz asked. He stops and gives Sophie a peck on the cheek as she comes to meet him by the foot of the bed. Bo looks down at Sunshine and she grins her lopsided, sad grin when she sees Dan kiss Sophie. He smiles. 

“Sophie, why don’t you gather up anything you’re going to want to take with you and let the staff know I want to talk to them before we leave. We’re going to need to change her out these bandages as well before we leave.” Bo says to her.   
She nods, “You gonna be ok with Bo there for a few minutes, Sunshine?” Sunshine looks at Bo for a minute then slowly nods as he sits down on the chair by her left side. 

Sophie grins. “Good. I will be right back.” She heads out with Dan and they go their separate ways to do what Bo asked them to do.

Bo looks at Sunshine and asks if she is ok. She looks at him and then glances down at the bed. She grabs Sophie’s blanket and nods. “Sweetheart are you scared?” he asks her.   
She nods a little bit. “Are you scared of us?” he asks. She shakes her head ‘no’. “Are you scared those men might find you?” she nods before he even finishes the question. 

He reaches out hesitantly to hold her hand, but stops when he sees her reaction of fear. “May I hold your hand?” He asks. She looks at him with fear in her eye, then looks down at her hand clutching the blanket. She slowly nods. He reaches over slowly and places his large, warm hand on top of her small cold one. He doesn’t say anything at first. 

She looks at their hands for a minute, then slowly lets go of the blanket and intertwines her fingers with his and squeezes them a little. 

“Baby steps.” He thinks to himself. He gives her hand a slight squeeze. “We will do everything we can, Sweetheart, to keep you safe from these men.” Is there anything that you remember that you can tell us about them? Like what kind of vehicle they drove, or the color of the vehicle, or a description of what it looked like so we can keep an eye out for it and ask the other lawmen in the area to do so as well?” 

She closes her eye and thinks. She nods, lets go of his hand and slides it out from under his big palm. She tries to pick up the pencil and position it for writing, but struggles. He says, “Here, let me help.” She nods. She flinches at his touch, but she allows him to help her get a better hold on the pencil. He then flips the note pad to a new page and attaches it to the clip board. 

She writes: _green truck black fenders sun visor over windshield enclosed bed no windows in back spare tire in front of driver’s side door padlock on back door patched bullet holes on back door & sides broken driver’s side mirror._

His eyes open wide. “Soph said you had a flashback / nightmare before we came in. Did you see this truck in that flashback/ nightmare?” he asks.   
Her eye is filled with tears when he glances at her. They begin to roll down her cheek as she nods. “Hey, don’t cry! It’s ok. This actually helps us a lot!!!”   
She looks at him surprised. “Can you tell me what happened in your flashback? She shakes her head ‘no’. “You sure? You don’t want to talk about it? There might be something in it that could help Dan identify these low down, good for nothing rats.” He gently reminds her. 

She writes on the note pad: _not right now. head & eyes hurt_.

“Ok, Sweetheart. But remember your promise. You promised you’d tell someone when you remember things, both good and bad things.” She nods.

He pulls out his pocket watch and looks at it.  
They needed to get her bandages changed ASAP. He was just going to call for Sophie when she came trotting back in with an armful of bandages and such. Sunshine saw what was in Sophie’s arms and started to whimper, knowing what would be next. Sophie tried to console her, and told her they would try very hard not to cause more pain than what was necessary. Sunshine wouldn’t look her in the eyes.

The poor woman tried not to cry, but she was in so much pain that she couldn’t help it. Bo and Sophie shed a few tears listening to Sunshine whimper and cry while they had to clean all those whipping wounds and the ones on her rear were the most sensitive ones. Her whimpers and tears made him just want to sit there and hold her and tell her it’s ok. He was worried the stitches on her rear end might tear from her sitting up, but they held. 

She clung to Sophie and wouldn’t let her go for a while after they finished. She wouldn’t let Boaz touch her either for a while after they got the wounds cleaned. Sophie had to really work to convince her to let them put the enormous cotton sheet on her back as a bandage. Sophie showed him how to take a 3” cloth bandage and wrap it around the top of Sunshine’s chest just under her armpits and over her breasts, to hold up the top part of the cotton sheet, and then wrap it crisscross from one shoulder to the other across the back so it was like a layered figure 8.

Sunshine, at first refused to let Boaz near her. Sophie had to do some quick thinking and sweet talking to get her to let him bandage Sunshine’s wounds.   
Then Sophie helped Sunshine sit up on the edge of the bed so they could wrap her middle section. Sophie had Bo wrap another bandage around Sunshine’s waist to hold the middle part of the sheet in place. Sunshine froze the moment he touched her skin with the bandage and she squeezed her eyes shut as she hung on to Sophie’s arm. He murmured encouragement to her as he worked. Reminding her he wasn’t going to hurt her on purpose. Then Sophie helped Sunshine lay back down and showed Boaz how they figured out to wrap the lowest end of the sheet by wrapping the very tops of Sunshine’s thighs near the groin with the wide cloth bandage and tuck the long corners of the sheet at the bottom edge of her butt into the bandage so it acts like a garter to hold the corners in place. 

Sunshine was VERY upset that they had him doing this, but Sophie explained to her that he would be the one taking care of her in the evenings when Peg needed to sleep. She told her that he could be trusted and asked her if he had intentionally hurt her at all up until they had to clean her wounds again. Sunshine shook her head ‘no’. and Sophie had said, “See, then you know he won’t intentionally hurt you. He hasn’t and won’t slap or beat on you and he won’t try to rape you either. He is an honorable and good man who just wants to see you get better.” Finally, Sunshine calmed down, but he could still feel her trembling whenever he touched her. She still didn’t fully trust him yet and he wondered what else he could do other than give her time. 

He looked at his pocket watch and the clock on the wall again just as Dan, Sophie & Joe come walking into the room. Sophie had gone to get them after Sunshine was settled back into her bed with clean bandages on her.  
They walk over to the bed slowly. Joe towering over both Sophie and Dan. Sunshine’s eye looks up when they walk in and her eye gets huge when she sees Joe towering over the other two. Sophie sees the look of fear on her face and chuckles as she looks up at Joe then back at Sunshine. 

“It’s ok, Sunshine, this is Joe. He’s Dan’s Deputy Sheriff. He was with Dan and Bo when they found you.” Sunshine looks at him and then at Sophie. Sophie pulls Joe down and whispers something in his ear, then he nods and slowly walks over to where Bo is standing. Sunshine follows him with her eye but doesn’t freak out.

He slowly sits down by her side and smiles. “Hi there. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you from Dan and Sophie. I’m new in this town too, so don’t fret, you’re not the only one who doesn’t know anyone! We can be new here together!” He says as he gives her a great big smile. She gives him a puzzled look and then gives a tiny, bashful half smile. 

Boaz chuckles. “Well I think it’s time I give this young lady something to help her sleep so we can get her moved into the truck and be on our way.” He slowly walks away from her bed so as to not frighten her. She watches as he goes over to a cabinet and unlocks it. He pulls out a syringe and a bottle and fills the syringe with the Pernocton dosage. Then slowly walks back over.

Sunshine, has a brief moment of panic when she sees the syringe and needle that Boaz is holding. Everyone notices and Bo stops moving forward.

Joe quietly says, “It’s ok, Sunshine, no one here is going to hurt you. Do you like music?” he asks in an attempt to distract her. She looks at him with a puzzled look on her face and nods slowly.

He slowly stands up and walks around to the other side of the bed. She follows him with her eye until he is in her blind spot. She turns her head to see him. He looks up at Boaz, smiles and nods. Boaz nods back understanding the silent communication Joe sent him. Joe intends to distract her so he can approach her with the Pernocton shot. 

“How about I sing you a song my mum used to sing to me when I’d have to get shots as a kid?” He shudders and grins and wiggles his eyebrows in an attempt to keep her attention as Boaz quietly moved up to the bed making sure to keep the syringe out of her line of sight. “Hated getting shots as a little kid. Her song always helped calm me down when I was afraid and made me feel braver.” He says with a kind smile.

She thinks for a minute and closes her eye and scrunches up her left side of her face. She takes as deep of a breath as she can to try to calm down. She smells cedar, pine, musk and leather. “Why does this smell so familiar?” she thinks to herself. She opens her eye and looks at him. He hesitantly reaches down and brushes a stray hair out of her eye, his cool hand gently grazing the skin on her forehead. 

She flinches at the touch, but suddenly she remembers smelling that when the boozy man switched places with someone who had held her head on the side of the road. He had smelled the same way and had cool hands too! She remembered that man had been humming something, though she couldn’t recognize the tune, and that he had a nice singing voice that almost lulled her to sleep. She flinched when he moved the hair from her eyes, but she slowly nods to him when he leaned his arm on the pillow above her head and looked at her with a kind smile and happy eyes. 

He smiles and begins to sing the song his mum sang to him. It was the same tune he had hummed last night as he held her head! This was the man who held her head and almost lulled her to sleep! She was mesmerized by his voice and smiled a little. Suddenly she felt a warm hand on her left arm and started to turn her head to see, but Joe quickly reached down and held her face on the left side so she looked at him instead of Bo. 

Bo freezes when he sees her head start to move and looks up at Joe. They both see that She flinched for a moment as Joe touched her face, but Joe smiled at her and kept singing and she didn’t fight him.

Bo moves to get the needle of the syringe into the Iv port, then he injects the Pernocton.  
She felt someone mess with the Iv in her arm. Then she got incredibly sleepy. She kept looking at Joe’s beautiful green eyes until her eye couldn’t stay open any longer and she drifted off to a deep sleep where she felt no pain.


	22. BROTHERS ON THE MOVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So now we get to meet the villian and his sidekick. What will they do when they find out Ruth has been found and that she is alive?!?!?

Chapter 22:   
BROTHERS ON THE MOVE

  
“What the HELL were you thinking letting her do that?” Ed says to Jack as he slams on the brakes after Ruth falls from the opened door of the truck. “Don’t stop Ed! Just let her go! She probably didn’t survive the fall anyway with how fast you were driving!” Jack says to Ed as he leans over to pull the door closed, worried about what Ed will do to him and Ruth. 

“YOU STAY PUT!!!” Ed booms, “If you so much as step one foot out of this truck, I swear I will shoot YOU and HER and leave you BOTH here on the side of the road to die!” Ed blows up at Jack as he points at him and proceeds to get out of the truck and into the rain.

“Oh God, what have we done?” Jack asks himself. He nervously watches in the side mirror as Ed stalks back to the woman’s body and watches in horror as he squats down, curses and throws a few punches, stands, and then kicks at the woman for several minutes. Landing several kicks right on her pregnant belly. 

Jack says a silent prayer for the woman and baby he has done his best to keep alive so she could hopefully escape and find the cops and end this charade. They both were SO tired of being on the run. He was no more a captive of the situation than she was. He had been on the run from the law with his brother for nearly a decade, though she had only been forced to join them about 2 or 3 years ago now. He couldn’t remember for sure how long she had been with them by that point. He prayed she had survived the fall and was simply knocked out cold. He hoped his brother’s beating didn’t kill the woman and baby. He already had buried two of her babies that Ed had killed when he beat the woman in the past. He hoped that someone finds her soon after they leave and that those people find her alive and can help her.

His brother comes walking back over, blood splattered on his fists. He is soaked and drips water all over as he climbs back into the green truck and starts the engine back up. He doesn’t say anything, but glares at his brother and drives off. Jack looks at his pocket watch. It’s 3:15pm. He puts the pocket watch back in his pocket then stares out the window watching the mountain side speed past praying someone finds the woman soon and rescues her if she is still alive.

They drive for hours through the mist and rain and finally come to a town called Missoula and his brother pulls up into a motel. Just as a thunderstorm hits. He wipes his hands off on his red handkerchief that he pulls out of his pocket. Then he goes in and Jack assumes, he reserves at least one room. Ed comes back out and shows him keys and gestures for him to move the truck to the back of the building. He follows the older brother till they find a suitable place to park the truck so it’s not so noticeable. Then he gets out of the truck and follows his older brother back to the door of the room. 

They walk to a door nearby and he opens the door. Jack hesitates and looks at his brother. Ed nods that he should go in. Jack walks past him and the next thing he knows is that his body is being slammed into the wall face first, he drops his jacket, and his brother grabs his flannel shirt, twirls him around, slams him back into the wall. His head hits the wall hard and he sees stars for a minute then his brother is right in his face fist ready to land a punch.  
“I’m going to kill you if you EVER pull shit like that again! Do you hear me?!? Don’t think you can take away my toys and think you aren’t going to suffer consequences! I will part with my toys when I am good and ready to! And I wasn’t done with her yet and now she is dead!” Ed growls in his ear. 

Jack looks at his brother in shock. “She’s dead?” He couldn’t believe it. She is dead and it’s his fault. Then he realizes that never has his brother beat him or laid a hand on him like he just did out of anger. Yes, he has threatened him with a knife or gun to his head to get him to do what he wanted, but Jack knew this time it wasn’t an empty threat. This time it is something else. He can see something different in his brother’s eyes now. He is deranged and no longer in control. Jack realizes that something has snapped in his brother’s brain and he is no longer thinking clearly. Jack realizes he is in danger and for the first time, it’s not the bullets from the cops that are the danger… it’s his brother’s temper and his weapons.

He nods and looks at his brother. He drops his head and whispers, “I’m sorry.” His heart broke hearing his brother say she was dead. He doesn’t move. His brother grunts and lets go of his shirt. “You better not do this again. That is your only warning.” He grumbles as he walks over to the TV and flips it on. Ed flips through the channels until he finds some show he wants to watch. “Go find us some grub. I’m hungry.” He says to Jack. 

Jack nods and picks up his coat that had fallen from his hands when his brother slammed him against the wall and walks out the door. He goes to the office of the motel and asks if there’s any good grease joints nearby to get some grub for a take-out meal. The older woman behind the counter tells him of a couple places a few blocks away, and he thanks her. He walks the couple blocks to the restaurants. It is raining out and he barely notices. 

He flips up the collar on his coat and as he walks, he thinks of Ruth and wonders if she is really dead or if his brother was mistaken and she is alive, but just unconscious. He wonders if anyone has found her. It’s been several hours since he helped her “fall” out of the truck to help her try to escape when he saw a spot alongside the road where there would be room for her to fall and not crack her head on the rockface.

They had discussed the whole thing and planned it all out. She would feign sleep and lean against the door, Jack would sit between her and his brother and when he saw an opportunity for her to land on the side of the road with enough room to roll to a stop, he would lean over to “check on her”, whisper their code phrase, and pull the door handle and she would lean hard against the door so it would look like she fell out as the door opened. 

They both suspected Ed would do exactly what he did when he realized she had fallen out of the truck. They had agreed she would stay still, not move or open her eyes. She would take the beating without making a sound and then wait for him to walk away and drive off. She did exactly that, only Jack didn’t know if she did it because of what they had discussed, or if she did it because she was either knocked out cold or dead. He is worried. 

Suddenly he hears a horn blaring at him and snaps back to reality. He had just walked out into an intersection and in front of a car. Luckily the driver was able to stop before hitting him. He apologizes to the driver and hurries across the street. He gets to The Pussycat’s Diner, looks at the menu and orders enough food for himself and his brother and tells them it’s to take out. The cute blonde gal who was the cashier nods and tells him the total. He hands her some dough and she gives him back the change. He waits a few minutes for the cooks to fill the order. 

As he waits, he thinks about what his future now looks like… empty, hopeless. He knows that if he keeps following his brother like this, he will end up being arrested and sent up the river to do time or will end up in the hot chair, or shot to death like Bonnie & Clyde.  
He knew the law considered him an accomplice to so many crimes. He never wanted this lifestyle. He had plans and his brother goes and fucks it all up. Ever since their parents died in the fire, his brother has been hell bent on getting out of town and traveling. Jack didn’t realize when he drove Ed to the bank to cash his check from work that Ed had lost his job and that he would rob the bank and then expect him to be the get-away driver.   
Jack decided this is not how he wants to live any longer. But how to lam (escape) it? He can’t just walk into a copshop and say “Here I am, if you give me a break I will tell you everything and help you arrest my brother”… like a fink (someone who snitches on someone to the authorities) can he? 

He hopes that if his brother is wrong and that Ruth survived and tells her tale to someone, that she will remember the promise she made to him; that she will make sure to tell the law enforcement that he was as much a captive in the whole situation as she was, and that he helped her and didn’t ever hurt her. She said she would do her best to try to convince any lawman that she met to try to help him and not charge him as an accomplice to all his brother’s crimes. “God, I hope she is alive and can remember that!” he thinks to himself. 

“Sir?” a voice snaps him from his train of thought, “Your food is ready.” He looks up and the cute blonde doll is holding a bag with his food in it. Her head is tilted to the side and she is looking at him concerned with big brown eyes. “Thanks Doll.” He says and winks at her. She smiles and blushes. “Come back any time. Hope you enjoy your meal.” She says. He nods and starts walking out the door. 

Jack heads back to the motel and finds his brother passed out on the bed. He sets the food down on the table, and takes out his meal. “Ed!” he shouts over to his brother and throws a pillow at him that he grabs from the recliner next to his seat. “Mmmmph.” He gets as a reply. “Get up. The food is here and is getting cold.” He tells his brother. Ed gets up and stumbles over to the table. They eat in silence.

“What is the plan now?” Jack finally asks.   
“Not sure yet.” Ed replies. “I want to scope out a few places here and see what this town has got.” Jack sighs. “Do I need to come with, or can I wander on my own?” Jack asks him. Ed stops eating and looks at his brother. “You can wander, just don’t go very far. If shit hits the fan, we need to skedaddle out of here fast.”  
Jack nods. 

“I saw a Picture theater about a block down from the restaurant where I got these. Do you want to catch a moving picture tonight? It stopped raining for now. It was just a drizzle when I was walking back with the food.” Jack asks Ed.   
He thinks for a moment, then nods. “Sure. Then we can get a few beers afterward.” Ed says. Jack sighs, knowing that could lead to trouble. He noticed lately his brother is getting careless. He is drinking more and when he drinks too much, it ultimately leads to them being on the run again. One of these days they are going to get caught. 

A few hours later after food and showers, the brothers walk the couple blocks to the movie theater. They pay for the tickets and go see some western flick. Afterwards they head over to the bar across the street called ‘The Glacier’. They sit in a booth in the corner of the bar and have their beers and whiskey and just listen to the conversations around them for a while. Suddenly two couples enter the bar and are seated in the booth next to Ed and Jack’s. They think nothing of it until Ed hears part of their conversation. 

“… did you hear that one of the towns nearby got a new Deputy Sheriff?” the man asks the other man. “Yeah, they got him a couple months ago. Big guy from what I hear, friendly though.” The other man replies. A woman chuckles and says, “My friend there says he’s a big teddy bear, and a flirt. She says he has the hots for Mame’s server and she apparently has a crush on him too.” They all chuckle and continue on their conversation. 

“Hmmmm…” Ed says quietly. “…so a nearby town has a Green Deputy huh? Well if they have a deputy, that means they have the main sheriff too. So ,we’re going to have to find out which town and stay clear of that town if we can help it.” Jack just nods and yawns. “Ed, it’s getting late. Can we head back to the motel? I’m bushed.” Jack asks. Ed nods. “Yeah, we should head back. I want to case the joints in this town tomorrow morning.” 

“Ed, where do we want to do breakfast? How about the place I got supper from? They had a nice breakfast menu.” Jack suggests. “And we can sit there and plan out our morning while we eat if you like.” Ed nods. “Sounds fine.” He stands and grabs his jacket. Jack stands too and tosses some change on the table to pay for their drinks and a little extra as a tip for the cute waitress. Ed glances at him. “What? The server is cute!” Jack says. Ed rolls his eyes and starts walking out of the bar. 

They head back to the motel and hole up there for the night. The next morning, they walk to ‘The Pussycat’s Diner’. The same server is there that Jack saw last night, “Polly”, her nametag says. She comes up to him and asks if they enjoyed their meal last night. Jack smiles and nods. “Yup. So, we decided to come back and sample the breakfast items too.” She grins and shows them to a booth by the windows. “I will be back in a few minutes to get your order. Would you like anything to drink in the meantime?” she asks. Ed looks up from the menu. “Coffee, a whole pot of it.” She chuckles and looks at Jack. “And for you sir?” She asks. He looks up and says, “Coffee for me and an orange juice when you bring the food.” She nods and leaves to go get them their coffee. 

They look at the menu and decide on their order. It’s around 9:30am and they both had slept later than they had intended to. The breakfast rush luckily was ending and so there were a lot of empty booths around them. Suddenly they hear their server say, “Hey Sheriff! What brings you here?” 

Both men stiffen and their ears perk up listening to the conversation. “Hey Polly. Just came in for some coffee and biscuits and gravy. Didn’t get breakfast this morning and my belly is growling.” He plops down at a table a little way away from the brothers. “Can you bring two cups when you come? I’m expecting a friend to join me for breakfast.” She nods. “Sure thing, Sheriff.” She grabs a big tray and puts two pots of coffee and four coups of coffee on it as well as two small pitchers of creamer. 

She walks over to the two brothers and gives them their coffees and a coffee pot and a pitcher of creamer, then walks over to the Sheriff and gives him the other pot and two coffee cups and creamer. Then walks back to the kitchen to put the tray away. A few minutes later she comes walking over to the two brothers and asks them for their order. They order their food. Steak and eggs and hashbrowns for Ed and Pancakes, eggs, bacon and breakfast potatoes for Jack. She walks back to the kitchen to relay the order to the cooks. 

The brothers sit nervously watching the sheriff out of the corner of their eye. Jack asks quietly, “What are we gonna do, Ed?” Ed looks at him and quietly says, “We are gonna eat our breakfast, and see how long he stays. At least we know they have one here in town now.” 

Jack nods nervously, wraps his hands around the warm coffee cup and looks out the window. Ed picks up his coffee and drinks it while watching people outside the restaurant. It’s a beautiful day out and there are a lot of people walking around. 

Suddenly they hear the sheriff say, “Hey Mack! Thanks for joining me here!” The brothers glance over and their eyes get big in surprise as two more sheriffs join him. “Hope you don’t mind, Mike, I brought our neighbor over with me.” Mack says. “Naaah, that’s fine!” Sheriff Mike says. “Want some coffee?” They both nod. “Hey Polly, can you bring us another cup?” He hollers over to Polly. She smiles and brings him another cup and takes the breakfast orders for their table. 

“So, what did you want to meet with us about?” Mack asks Mike. “Well I got word from Henry over in the next county that Sheriff Patterson and Deputy Sheriff Walker found a woman on the side of the road last night. They were taking some drunkard home and spotted her.” The other two sheriffs look at each other. “Was she dead when they found her?” Mike asks.   
“Didn’t sound like it. Though he said he wasn’t sure if she was going to make it. Henry said she was badly beaten and raped. Asked if I had seen anyone new in the area. I told him I hadn’t but there’s always people passing through. He just said to keep an eye on our women and young ladies. He said he’d contact us when they knew more. Figured I better let you two know as well since you were in town for the trial for the bank robbery that happened a few months ago.”   
They both nod. “Keep us posted with that case.” Mike tells Mack. “Poor woman! Did Henry say what she looked like?” Mack thought for a moment. “All he said was that she had a mop of unruly auburn hair and was wrapped up in a blanket on the side of Going-to-the-Sun Road. They found her and brought her to the hospital. Hope she makes it so they can find the bastard who did it to her. Apparently, they got little to go on right now though. Won’t know much till she wakes up…IF she wakes up.” The other sheriffs nod.

Just then Polly walks over to the brothers with the tray of food and Jack’s orange juice. They no longer hear the sheriffs’ conversations. When she leaves, the sheriffs are discussing other things. The brothers eat quickly and get up to leave. Polly comes over and hands Jack the bill. She smiles at him and winks and says they can pay at the till on their way out. Jack nods and she walks over to the till. The brothers shrug on their coats and prepare to leave. 

“You boys new here?” Mack asks as the brothers don their coats. They freeze and their backs are facing him, and Ed just says, “We’re just passing through looking for our sister. She ran away from her abusive husband after he beat her, and we are trying to find her and make sure she is ok.”   
“Want some help?” Mack offers.   
“No, thanks though…” says Ed, “…we prefer to do this on our own and won’t get the law involved unless she wants to press charges.”   
“You sure?” Asks Mike, “We could get a search party together for you.” He offers.   
“No, thanks. We will take care of it.” Ed says through gritted teeth. He turns so the sheriffs never see his face full on and walks to the doors. He glances at Jack who walks over to the till and pays Polly for their meal, leaving her a generous tip. They quickly leave and walk back to the motel. 

As soon as they get into the motel room Jack explodes. “What the fuck was that crap about we’re looking for our sister, Ed??? We don’t HAVE a sister!” Jack fumes. 

Ed glares a warning at him. “Did you not fucking hear those cops, Jack??? Ruth may still be ALIVE and someone FOUND her! That means she is going to rat us out and the whole state is going to be fucking looking for us! We need to find her before she wakes up, silence her, and then get the hell outta here! When I left her there on the side of the road, I thought she was dead! HOW could she have survived that beating I gave her and then the rain and cold temps last night? We hadn’t seen one vehicle on that road since we had turned onto it! And we drove for HOURS!” Ed growls.  
“I don’t know!” said Jack.   
“If YOU hadn’t pushed her out of the truck, this never would have been an issue!” blamed Ed. “What were you thinking?!?”   
“Hey! I DIDN’T push her out of the truck! The door didn’t catch all the way, when we turned the corner, it flew open and she fell out! She was leaning against it sleeping, REMEMBER!?!” Jack says.   
“Hmph!” replies Ed, crossing his arms.

“Well we are going to check every hospital and clinic in the area till we find her.” He says. “And YOU WILL play along, or you forfeit your life!” Ed warns Jack. 

Jack turns and faces the wall so his back is to his brother. “Fine.” He says with a grin. He knows his brother just made the biggest mistake of their lives going back for Ruth. He starts to form a plan for his own escape from this mess and he says a silent prayer that Ruth wakes up soon and remembers enough to tip off the law. He prays she remembers her promise and does her best to try to get him off the hook for being a forced accomplice to his brother’s crimes.

An hour later they pull away from the motel and don’t come back. Again, Ed did not pay for the room, but this is the first time they left one in broad daylight. Normally they are sneaking out in the middle of the night. Jack realizes this is yet another careless mistake his brother has made in his haste to find Ruth. Now more people will witness them leaving. 

They backtrack along the road and stop in each town for a few hours looking for their “Sister” at the hospitals or clinics when they find towns with them. If there’s no clinic or hospital they ask around to find out the nearest one. They stop in Hungry Horse, MT and ask around to find out the nearest hospitals to the spot where the woman was found. In no time they learn that the “Henry” the sheriffs mentioned that morning was the former Sheriff of West Glacier. Ed groans and rubs his face. “West Glacier…. Why did it have to be there???” he grumbles to his brother. They also learn the closest hospital and clinics to the spot where Ruth was found was either in West Glacier or Summit or in St.Mary’s. When they reach West Glacier, they detour around the edge of the city and head onto highway 2. They head for Summit first.

Confused, Jack asks Ed, “Why didn’t you stop in West Glacier first. I thought you were in a hurry to find Ruth? Why didn’t we stay on the road we traveled on after Ruth fell out and back track that way?” Ed looks at him briefly, and says, “We are, but I’m gonna do some intelligence gathering FIRST before we head into THAT town and onto THAT road again. If there’s a sheriff AND a Deputy in the area, I want to know where they are, what they look like, and who they are.” They follow Highway 2 and stop in the towns asking for info on their missing ‘sister’ and info on the law enforcement.

They stop at the clinic on the edge of Summit and ask around, but no one has seen her or heard anything. They ask where the hospital is and are directed to the opposite end of town. They get back in the truck and head that way. They reach the hospital and make inquiries there and explain the situation, but none of the staff say they have seen or heard anything and that there is no one there matching that description. Frustrated, they leave. They travel from Summit, then to East Glacier Park, then Kiowa then up to St. Mary. Checking at each town/ city as they go. No one has seen/heard anything they are willing to share. Ed is getting annoyed.

“It’s getting late, let’s go get some supper, rest here tonight and head out onto the road where Ruth fell out in the morning.” Ed says, “I’m starving.”   
Jack nods. They hop in the truck and Jack drives them to a bar/diner in St. Mary’s. It looks like a dive one and Ed finds a secluded place to park the truck so it’s out of sight. He gets out and stretches. They walk into the bar and order some booze and food. They head over to a booth near the wall and wait for their food. 

“She has to be in West Glacier, since she isn’t here or anywhere else.” Says Ed, thinking out loud as he plays with the stubble on his chin. “But why? Why take her to West Glacier when St. Mary’s is closer? West Glacier is an hour and a half from where she got dumped. Why not just take her to the closest hospital, which would be here in St. Mary’s?” He ponders out loud. 

Jack is looking out towards the window not really listening. “I dunno, Ed. Maybe they had special equipment there or knew someone there who was trained to care for the kind of injuries she had. Who knows.”   
Ed just nods. 

The woman brings over their food and asks them if there is anything else they need. They shake their heads and she leaves. They eat quickly and are almost done when they hear some patrons sit down near them. Listening to the conversation as they drink their beer and whiskey, the brothers realize the one man is a shop keeper of some kind. 

“Hey……did Dan get ahold of you this afternoon?” he asks the other man. “No, why?” the other man replies. “Well he called me, told me he was calling all the shopkeepers in the area asking them to keep a lookout for a green truck and something about a couple brothers looking for their sister. Something about her being beaten up. They are apparently looking to talk to the brothers.” He says. “Maybe Dan wants to help them look for her?” Says the other guy. “Maybe. But from what I hear the woman was pretty badly beaten. They aren’t sure if she was going to make it or not.” The first guy says. “Oh! Did Dan find her?” the other guy asks. “It sounds like it.” The first guy replies. “Well maybe Dan wants to let them know he found her so they can come be with her.” They continue talking about other things and when Ed realized the conversation has moved on, he gets up. “Let’s roll.” He says to Jack.

Jack nods and gets up. They pay for the drinks and head out to the truck. “We need to ditch this thing and get something else now that they are looking for our truck. You know what that means….she has woken up and ratted on us! She’sgiven them a description of this vehicle. Now they will be looking for it.” Ed says. 

Jack nods, and thinks to himself, “and for us if she gave them a description.” They get in and drive out of town. Soon they come upon an exit for a campground, they pull off for the night on that road. They park in a wooded area with a thick canopy and bushes that they can hide the truck in. They lay out the mats in the back of the truck and go to sleep for a few hours. 

When Jack wakes up, Ed is gone. He looks all over and can’t find him. He knows he should stay put cuz Ed is probably off stealing some vehicle for them to use to go into West Glacier. He shrugs and gets a small fire going to cook some breakfast bacon and sausages and eggs that they bought the night before on their way out of town. He had just finished frying the bacon and sausages and was putting the eggs into the bacon grease when Ed pulled up with a black car. Ed parked it next to the truck, so it was out of sight and got out. Walking over he sees breakfast is almost ready. Jack looks up at him and asks, “So where did you go off to this morning? And where did you get that?” he asks pointing to the car.

“I woke up at dawn and walked down the road and came upon a lodge with a bunch of cabins people can rent and vehicles in the parking area. So I picked one that wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb and wouldn’t easily be missed, and drove off with it. The daft fool left the keys in the glove box.” He laughs. “It purrs like a kitten. He’ll never even miss it!” 

Jack rolls his eyes. He doesn’t even bother scolding his brother for stealing it cuz he knows it won’t do any good. Ed sits down and grabs a plate and holds it out for Jack to load the eggs, sausage and bacon onto. He grabs a couple slices of toast that Jack had toasting next to the fire. Jack dishes up his own breakfast and they eat in silence. 

Jack misses Ruth. When she was there, he at least had someone to talk to and to cuddle with at night. He feels so alone now that she is gone, and he is struggling to fall asleep at night now that her warm body isn’t there. He got too used to her warmth and presence. But he is glad someone found her, and he hopes she is safe and that he and his brother DON’T find her. He is lost in thought and doesn’t notice Ed get up and say something to him until he gets a kick to his back. “Get up and get this mess cleaned up. We need to get going!” Ed says. “Don’t make me tell you again!” 

Jack sighs and gets up. He kicks dirt over the campfire till it is out and he takes the cooking utensils and cleans them in the creek near where they stopped. He walks back and puts everything away.   
“Come on Jack, get in and let’s get going, it’s almost 9am!” says Ed as he loads their gear into the back of the car. Jack sighs, grabs a hat that completely covers all of his hair and grabs his sunglasses since it’s a bright day out. He climbs into the black 1932 Chevy Master Coach.

Ed looks at him and asks, “What’s with the hat and smokeglasses?”   
Jack shrugs. It’s bright out and I’m tired of squinting to see.” Ed starts the car and they leave, heading for West Glacier. They get into town by mid-morning and pull into Happy Louie’s and decide to grab some food since they are hungry again. “Early lunch?” Jack asks and Ed nods. 

They walk in and Amy greets them. “Hey boys, what’ll you be having?” Jake smiles at her and orders a Whiskey and Ed just orders a beer. They head over to the corner booth and look at the menus while they wait for their drinks. Amy comes over and hands them their drinks. “Want any grub to go with those?” she asks. Ed orders the beef stew and buttermilk biscuits, and Jack orders a burger and fries basket. Amy trots off to give Louie the orders. 

“So where do ya want to start?” Jack asks Ed. Ed leans back in the booth and takes a swig of his beer. Maybe ask around to see where the hospital or clinic is. See if anyone has heard about her. Once we find where the hospital and clinic are, we can head over there and see if they can give us any info.” Jack nods and takes a swig of his whiskey. They watch people for a while then Amy brings out their food. “Need anything else boys? Refill maybe?” Jack nods that he wants a refill of his whiskey. She smiles and says, “Be back in a jiffy.” Ed rolls his eyes and continues eating. 

Amy heads up to the bar to fill Jack’s whiskey when Mame comes out of the kitchen. She notices the brothers sitting in the corner. She asks Amy if she knows who they are. Amy says, “No clue who they are, Mame, but the dark haired one is really sexy. He has GORGEOUS eyes!!!”   
Mame chuckles, “Better than Joe’s?” she teases.   
Amy blushes a bright red. “Well, nooo, but they are pretty!” Amy says. 

“Be careful with them, Amy. Joe warned me when he came to get the soup broth for Boaz last night that there’s a couple of brothers who are criminals headed towards West Glacier. And they’ve been in other towns near here and were saying they are looking for their ‘sister’. Joe warned us not to give them any information cuz their ‘sister’ doesn’t want them to find her. So don’t go giving them any information! Ok?” Mame says.   
Amy nods. “Ok Mame, if that’s what Joe wants.” 

“I’m going to give Dan a call and let him know that the brothers may be here. Those men matched the description Dan had given me yesterday. He had said not to confront them about anything, but to just serve them and call him if we see them.” Mame says. “I’ll call from the till so I can keep an eye on them.”   
Amy nods and goes to bring Jack his Whiskey. 

“Here ya go sir.” She says as she places the whiskey on the table. “How’s the food tasting? Do you need anything else?” She asks them. Ed looks up at her and tells her the food is delicious. He asks if he could have a few more biscuits, but other than that, they are fine. She nods and goes to get more biscuits for the man.

A few minutes later she returns with the biscuits and sets them on the table. “Here ya go. Let me know if there is anything else you want. I will bring the bill when you are ready.” She turns to leave and Ed grabs hold of her hand. He eyes her up and down hungrily appreciating her body. “Hang on there Hon, I wanted to ask you a question.” 

Jack looks nervous and thinks to himself, “Shit! What is he up to now? That’s the same look he got on his face when he saw Ruth in the field!” Amy turns and looks down at his hand grabbing her arm. “Yes?” she says, uneasy.   
He lets go and asks her if she can point him in the direction of the hospital. He tells her that they got word that their sister had been beaten and ran from her husband and that she was found and brought to a hospital in the area, but they don’t know which one. She looks puzzled for a moment. “Well I haven’t heard anything about that, but the hospital is a few blocks down that way.” She says, pointing. Both men look in the direction she points. “If you’re looking for someone though, I’d suggest checking with Sheriff Dan or Deputy Sheriff Joe. They would know where the woman is at if she was brought here. They are about a block from the hospital in that direction.” She says pointing in the direction of the Jail. Both men nod and thank her. 

While Amy is talking to the men, Mame tries calling Dan and Joe, but neither of them answer. She also tries the Jail no one answers so she calls Boaz’s. Henry answers and she tells him what Joe had said to her about the brothers looking for their supposed sister. She tells him they are in the bar right now. Amy comes walking back up while Mame is on the phone with Henry and Amy slips her a note that they asked where the hospital was. Mame tells this to Henry. He tells her that he will get ahold of Dan and let him know and to just act like they are normal customers. He thanks her for the info and tells her to call him if the men cause any problems. She thanks him and hangs up. 

The brothers finish eating and flag down Amy for the tab. She brings it over to them and tells them they can pay at the till on their way out. She heads back to the bar and serves some other patrons. The two men stand up and don their jackets. Jack puts his hat and “smokeglasses” back on. They head over to the door and Ed waits while Jack pays. Mame is at the till and makes small talk with Jack while she rings up their food and drinks. She tells them to have a nice day and good luck finding the sister. They thank her and leave. 

They start walking in the direction of the Hospital, when Ed tosses Jack the car keys and tells him to go bring the car up to the hospital. Jack tosses the keys back and says, “No, Ed, you took the car and I don’t want to be seen driving it. If you want the car at the hospital, then you’ll have to drive it there.” Ed gives him a dangerous look. 

Jack starts walking in the direction of the Hospital. “See you there.” He says. Ed shoots daggers at Jack with his eyes and then heads back to the car. He gets in and drives it over to the Hospital. Jack had just gotten there and was waiting for him by the door when he pulled up in the car. He knew Ed wouldn’t make a scene about him disobeying his command when they are standing in the middle of the road in a town with three law enforcement personnel around somewhere. But he also knew Ed WOULD punish him as soon as they were out of town. So, he just had to make sure they stayed IN town till his brother screwed up and decided to break some law and get them arrested.

He wondered how long it would take. He noticed the clinic was actually right next to the hospital. “How convenient!” he thought. Just then Ed walks up and notices the same thing. “Do you want to take the Clinic and I’ll go check in the Hospital?” Jack asks Ed. Ed thinks for a minute then nods. “See if you can use your charms with the women to get any info out of them if they’ve seen anyone with Ruth’s description.” He tells Jack. Jack smirks. “Ok.” They part ways and head into the two buildings.


	23. SUNSHINE ON THE MOVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brothers are on their way to find Ruth and are headed right for the town she is being treated in. Bo worries they won't get her out in time, and they finally get her loaded into the vehicle and head out. Will they beat the brothers and get out before the brothers arrive?  
> Read on and find out!

Chapter 23   
SUNSHINE ON THE MOVE

  
Bo looks up at Joe when he sees the terrified look on Sunshine’s face for that instant she saw the needle. He was surprised by what Joe did next. He watches as Joe asks her if she likes music, and then rises, circles to the other side of the bed and draws Sunshine’s attention off of him and the needle. He didn’t expect Joe to distract her by singing, but that is exactly what Joe did. “That man never ceases to amaze me!” Bo thinks to himself. He slowly starts to walk up to the bed, making sure to keep the needle out of sight should she turn her head. Joe is singing to her softly. Bo looks down at her face and sees that she is mesmerized by the singing. 

Joe has a calming voice and her full attention, so Bo gently grabs Sunshine’s arm to turn it so he can get at the Iv port. He keeps an eye on Sunshine’s face as he does so, and the instant he touches her arm she starts to turn her head. Bo freezes, still holding her arm. He looks at Joe.  
Luckily, Joe reaches over quickly without missing a beat, and gently stops Sunshine’s face from turning to see what Bo was doing. She flinches briefly when his fingers gently touch the left side of her face, but he doesn’t stop singing. He holds her head and keeps her from turning it while he sings and caresses her left cheek with his thumb. Bo waits a couple seconds then slowly brings up the hand with the needle and inserts the end into the Iv port and injects the Pernocton. 

He turns his head and watches as it starts to take effect. He can see her fighting it, wanting to hear Joe’s song, but they both smile as she loses that fight and her eye closes and doesn’t open again. Her head nods forward slightly in Joe’s big hand. Joe nods at Bo and Bo removes the needle from the Iv port. Joe finishes the last few bars of the song and just stands there and runs his hand through her hair for a couple moments.

“Poor Doll, she must be like Dan and hates needles.” He says looking over at Dan, who gives him ‘the look’.

“Thanks for distracting her,” Bo says. “I didn’t think she would be scared of the needle. It didn’t don on me to ask if she feared needles. I wonder why she is afraid of them?” Bo comments. 

“I’m surprised she didn’t fight you when you touched her face as she started to turn her head! She had only just met you a few minutes before.” Dan says. 

Joe shrugs. “Maybe it’s cuz she saw Soph talk to me and Soph wasn’t afraid of me… or it could just be my charms.” Joe says smirking. They all laugh. 

“Yeah, you go ahead and think that Joe… just don’t let it give you a big noggin or your hat won’t fit.” Sophie teases him. 

“So now what, Doc? She’s out like a light. What now?” Joe asks as he looks at Bo. “Now we get her loaded into the back of the truck. Make sure there’s enough padding under her that she won’t bruise any more than she already is once we get to the gravel road. I’d rather not have to take it slow if we can avoid it.” Bo asks. 

“Yeah, we can handle that Bo.” Dan Says. Bo informs them he is going to meet with the hospital and clinic staff to instruct them to not give out ANY info on this woman and to act like she was NEVER there. They nod and let him go do his thing.   
Bo finds the Charge nurse on duty and asks her to gather all staff to the break room for a quick meeting. 5 minutes after Bo had asked the charge nurse to gather everyone, she has all the nurses and doctors on duty present in the break room. Boaz briefly explains what is going on with the woman they are transporting out of the hospital. He does not tell them where she is being taken; but does tell them that they know there are two criminal brothers looking for her who are masquerading as her brothers.   
Bo tells them what the brothers have been doing in the other towns. He instructs them to not discuss the woman or the case with ANYONE other than himself, Peg, Sophie, Henry, Dan or Joe. He doesn’t want her being talked about anywhere in town where the brothers might overhear. They are to act like she was never there. Anyone caught talking about her with anyone other than the lawmen, Peg, Sophie or himself will be fired immediately. He tells them that if anyone besides himself, Peg, Sophie, Dan, Joe or Henry comes inquiring about her or anyone resembling her, that they are to be directed to go speak with the sheriff, deputy sheriff or Henry. They agree and he lets them get back to work. He heads over to the clinic and gives them the same speech and warning. The clinic staff also agree to not share any info. 

Bo comes walking around the back of the hospital and finds both his truck and Dan’s truck there. Dan’s is loaded with the woman in it and she is covered in a large number of blankets. Dan, Sophie & Joe are there waiting for him. It’s nearly dark out now and nearing suppertime. So hopefully no one is paying attention to what’s going on out on the streets as they prepare to eat. “Joe did you get the broth and food from Mame?” Bo asks. 

Joe nods. “It’s in your truck sitting on the front seat.” Bo nods. “Ok, everyone ready to head out?” They all nod. “Ok, let’s get going then.” He says as he climbs in the back of Dan’s truck to sit with the woman. Dan closes the tailgate. Bo lays down next to Sunshine on the mattress Dan had placed in there for them. Bo has the stethoscope he is borrowing from the hospital still around his neck so he can check her vitals during the trip. She is laying on her back and he hopes the jostling doesn’t tear loose any of the stitches.

He lays on her left side so he can be seen if she for some reason wakes up. He made sure to grab an extra dose of Pernocton just in case that happens. He calls Sophie over to the bed of the truck and sits back up. He says to her, “If I bang on the back of the cab 3 times tell Dan to pull over and come see what I need, ok? Here, take this syringe of Pernocton so it doesn’t get broken or lost. I might need it if for some reason this trip takes longer than expected and she starts to wake.”

Sophie grabs the syringe, looks down at it and then back up at him and nods. “Ok, Bo. Anything else?” He shakes his head and she gets in the truck with Dan, Bo lays back down next to Sunshine, and Joe gets into Boaz’s truck. They start the engines and head out. 

The drive is a quiet one. The stars are out and there are only a few whisps of clouds. The moon is nearly full and shines brightly for them. Boaz looks up at the stars and thinks about how fast his world has changed in just 48 hours. He looks down at the battered woman lying next to him and he reaches over and tucks the blanket in around her neck. She doesn’t flinch, as she is blissfully unaware of anything thanks to the Pernocton. He is grateful they had the wonder drug as he knew this would have been extremely painful for her otherwise. He looks at her and studies her face. She has a button nose and a pretty face aside from the bruises and scrapes. He runs his fingers through her soft, curly auburn hair. He breathes in the smell of the hospital shampoo…peppermint scented. Looking at her face more he notices the swelling is going down around her eye and cheekbone. He thinks she should be able to open that eye in a day or two and they will have a better idea of any vision loss she may have. 

He thinks about how it hasn’t registered in her head yet to ask about the baby. “Did she forget she was pregnant, or did she somehow already know that she lost it?” he wonders. He had asked Joe to pick up the tiny coffin from the undertakers when he got the lumber and bird seed. He explained that he wants to bury the baby with his wife and daughter, so it won’t be obvious to anyone visiting the town that an infant recently died. It might tip off the criminal brothers. 

Joe nodded and showed him the coffin when he got back with the truck loaded full. Bo checks the woman’s breathing and heartbeat and is relieved to hear it sounds normal. He hopes the cool fall air doesn’t cause any problems for her in the upcoming days; especially since she had a touch of pneumonia that she is still recovering from. 

Boaz nods off for a while till he feels the truck slow down and begin to turn. He opens his eyes and sees they are turning onto another road. They just passed the spot where they found her and now they will drive on that Road for a short while then turn onto another road that is winding and treacherous, then finally turn onto the gravel lane that he lives near the end of.  
He notices that the rivers and creeks are high from the rain when they drive over them. The water is right up to the bottom of the bridges, he wonders how high the creek near his home will be. Hopefully not so high that it cuts off the bridge. That would NOT be good. He wants to get home with her and get settled. 

Bo is antsy to get her used to his presence and not be afraid of him. He had helped Sophie change her dressings before they let Dan and Joe in. The poor woman tried not to cry, but she was in so much pain that she couldn’t help it. It damn near broke his heart to hear her crying, but he had to clean all those whipping wounds and the ones on her rear were the most sensitive ones. Her whimpers and tears made him just want to sit there and hold her and tell her it’s ok. He had been worried the stitches on her rear end might’ve torn from her sitting up, but they held. 

He remembered how she had clung to Sophie and wouldn’t let her go for a while after they finished. She wouldn’t let Him touch her either for a while after they got the wounds cleaned. Sophie had to really work to convince her to let him put the enormous cotton sheet on her back as a bandage. He laid there in the back of Dan’s truck remembering how Soph showed him how to take a 3” cloth bandage and wrap it around the top of Sunshine’s chest just under her armpits and over her breasts, to hold up the top part of the cotton sheet, and then wrap it crisscross from one shoulder to the other across the back so it was like a layered figure 8. And how she had him wrap another one around Sunshine’s waist to hold the middle part of the sheet in place. Then she showed him how they figured out to wrap the lowest end of the sheet by wrapping the very tops of Sunshine’s thighs near the groin with the wide cloth bandage and tuck the long corners of the sheet at the bottom edge of her butt into the bandage so it acts like a garter to hold the corners in place. 

He remembered how Sunshine was VERY upset that they had him doing this, but Sophie explained to her that he would be the one taking care of her in the evenings when Peg needed to sleep. She told her that he could be trusted and asked her if he had intentionally hurt her at all up until they had to clean her wounds again. Sunshine shook her head ‘no’. and Sophie had said, “See, then you know he won’t intentionally hurt you. He hasn’t and won’t slap or beat on you and he won’t try to rape you either. He is an honorable and good man who just wants to see you get better.” She told Sunshine. Finally, Sunshine calmed down, but he could still feel her trembling whenever he touched her. She still didn’t fully trust him yet and he wondered what else he could do other than give her time. 

His heart ached for her and all she has had to suffer. He looks down at her and brushes some loose strands of hair out of her face and tucks them behind her ears. He plays with one particular curl that is a perfect, tight little ringlet near her temple. He leans down and gives her a kiss on the forehead and whispers that they are almost there. He recognized the area they were in as being close to the turn off for the gravel road. He pulls out his pocket watch and realizes they have made good time. Suddenly he feels the truck start to slow and tilt as it maneuvers the turn onto the gravel road. Dan slows down quite a bit and comes to a stop. Boaz is puzzled why and sits up. 

Dan gets out of the cab of the truck and walks over to the side of the bed where Bo is sitting. “How is she doing, Bo?” he asks. Bo says, “She is still out like a light. Why did you stop?” Dan rubs his face. “We are going to have to take the gravel road really slow, Bo. Look how pitted with potholes it is! With the rains, we have no way of knowing how deep they are, and I don’t want to break an axle or bottom out the truck. This might end up taking more than an hour to get through.”   
Bo rubs his face and looks around the side of the cab to see how bad the road is. He groans. “Well, do what you can Dan. If she starts to wake up, I gave Soph a syringe of Pernocton to hang on to. I will bang on the truck’s cab 3 times if she starts waking up. You’ll need to stop if we have to give Sunshine another injection.” Bo says. Dan nods and says, “I’m gonna go let Joe know so he can take it slow with all your stuff in the back of the truck.” Bo nods and Dan walks over and talks to Joe for a couple minutes then walks back to the cab of his truck and gets in. 

It takes them an hour and forty-five minutes to navigate the gravel road. Twice they had to stop and test some of the bigger potholes to see how deep they were before driving into them. Sunshine did start to wake about halfway into the jaunt down the gravel road. They stopped and Sophie gave the syringe to Bo so he could inject it into the IV port and Sunshine slept for the rest of the trip. Bo was glad he thought to grab it especially since the last half was the worst part of the road. But they arrived all in one piece. The creek near his home was high and almost up to the bottom of the bridge, but they were glad it wasn’t any higher. 

Peg and Henry had the house warmed up with a nice fire in the fireplace and they had unloaded all the supplies from their truck. Henry had moved his vehicle out of the way so Bo could have them pull right up to the door with the truck carrying Sunshine. Peg had packed up all Abbie’s stuff into the cedar trunks from the barn and was just finishing cleaning in the room when Dan and company pulled up in front of the cabin. Henry had made some coffee and chocolate chip cookies while they waited for Boaz to come, and the house smelled amazing.

Henry walks out to greet them and asks Bo what he wants unloaded first. Bo looks over at Sunshine and Henry nods as he walks over to the tailgate and lowers it down. He grabs the corners of the blanket they had her resting on and Boaz stands and grabs the top two corners after handing his stethoscope to Sophie. They count to three and lift her off the back of the truck. Joe grabs the two corners that Bo had been hanging onto so he could jump down. Joe and Henry carry Sunshine into the house and Peg directs them where to place her in the Master bedroom to the right of the front door. She has the bedding folded down and helps them transfer Sunshine from the makeshift stretcher to the huge bed and then shoos them out to go unload the truck.

Sophie comes in and helps her get the Iv set up and connected to Sunshine’s port and gets Sunshine covered and comfortable for her stay. “I hope she likes it here, Peg.” Peg nods and shows Sophie the things Bo purchased for Sunshine. They are admiring the choices and giggling when the men start bringing a few crates into the bedroom of bedding and pillows and bandages that they couldn’t fit in Henry’s truck. 

Bo looks over at them with an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his lips, and asks, “And what do you two find so funny that you are giggling like a couple of schoolgirls?” 

“Nuuuthhhiiinnnggg….” They both say at the same time while smirking and holding the night gowns & perfume behind their backs. He smirks and gives them a ‘panty melting’ look and they both blush. He walks over to them slowly, like a big, dark cat stalking it’s prey, and they look at each other like they’re silently saying “Busted!” to each other. He grins when he sees the look on their faces. Just then Dan and Henry walk in and look over at the three. 

“What’s up Buttercup?” Henry asks his wife. Boaz smirks, but doesn’t turn to look at Henry. He looks right at Peg with a raised eyebrow. His lip just barely turned up in a smile. She stammers that they were just admiring Boaz’s choices of peace offerings for Sunshine as she pulls the two nightgowns out from behind her back. Now it’s Boaz’s face that shows surprise and is beet red. Her statement wiped the smug grin right off his face and it is replaced with one of surprise and embarrassment. He doesn’t know what to do.   
Peg giggles when she sees this and says, “We liked how you ran with the purple theme, Bo.”   
He puts his hand up to his face and rubs it. “Really, ladies?”   
They giggle and Henry walks up and pats him on the back while Dan is trying hard not to laugh out loud by the doorway. “So what scent did you pick for the perfume, Bo?” Dan finally gets out.   
Bo turns and glares at him. 

Sophie chuckles, pulls the bottle out from behind her back, shows Dan and replies, “lilac”. And Dan loses it laughing but tries to stay quiet so not to disturb Sunshine. “Purple all the way, huh, Bo?!” he guffaws.  
Boaz groans and asks, “What’s wrong with that? Sunshine wrote it was her favourite color!” 

Henry chuckles and pats his back and says, “Nothing wrong with spoiling her after all she has gone through, Bo. I’m sure she will love the choices you made.” He pats Bo’s back again encouragingly.   
Bo gives him a grateful smile, then turns and walks towards the door and smacks Dan on the shoulder. “Come on chuckles, lets go get the rest unloaded.” Dan struggles to stop laughing and follows him out of the room snickering. Bo just shakes his head. 

Henry chuckles at the two and then looks back at his wife and Sophie. “Was that really necessary?” he says as he folds his arms across his chest.   
They both look down. “We just thought it was so adorable, Henry.” Sophie says. “He never shopped and bought expensive stuff like that for Abbie! Do you know how much that purple blanket, the perfume and nightgowns he bought her cost? Not to mention the heavy bathrobe and slippers! Dan had a fit when I bought my blue blanket and it was on sale! Bo paid full price for that one!” Sophie replies.

“Hun, I’m sure Boaz understood that, and he probably bought that blanket because it was one of the few things Sunshine had available to her that gave her some comfort and security. Bo knew the blue one was your favourite blanket and he wanted you to have it back, but he also didn’t want to take the one thing away from her, besides you, that gave the woman immediate comfort. I’m sure he thought the price for all those things was worth paying, if it meant she had some things to comfort her here since you won’t be here as much as you were in the hospital.” Henry gently reprimands her. 

“I never thought of it that way.” Sophie said contritely. 

Peg looks at Henry and smiles, “Henry, I think Bo is smitten with Sunshine.” Henry looks at her confused. ‘Why do you say that, My Love?” He asks her.   
“If you would’ve seen the way he was looking at her this morning when she had fallen asleep after breakfast, you’d understand. He walked into the room, looked up and just stopped dead in his tracks with this adorable love-struck and concerned look on his face. He just stood there admiring her, even though she was all banged up, until I cleared my throat and got his attention.  
I think he fancies her hair. I could see his fingers were itching to play with those ringlets. He wants SO badly to help her feel better, and help her to trust and love again. He knows she likes soft things. He also has become VERY attentive to her. Both of these night gowns are SO Soft! Feel them, Hun! And this one is her favourite color!” she says as she hands him one of the night gowns. 

He chuckles and hands it back to her after feeling it’s softness. “I’m sure her poor back will thank him for it when she is able to wear them.” He says. “Now are you two done fawning over her gifts from Bo, or do you still have work to do?” The two women look at each other and Peg says, “Just let me get these hung up in the closet and put the robe and slippers by the wheelchair for her, then we’ll be done.”  
He nods. 

Once they got everything settled in Sunshine’s room, they joined the others in the living room right across from the open doorway of the master bedroom. Sophie hung near the bedroom door to keep an eye on Sunshine while Boaz is sitting in the chair by the fireplace and looks exhausted. Suddenly his stomach growls loudly and they all laugh.

“How about I heat up that food Joe brought for us so we can all eat?” Peg suggests.  
“That would be wonderful, Peg.” Boaz says as she heads into the kitchen.   
“Thank you all for the help.” He says to everyone as he looks up at them. “I couldn’t have done it without you!”  
“Happy to do so, my friend.” Dan says as he pats Boaz’s shoulder. “If you need anything else, just give us a ring on the phone and we’ll bring it up to you at the end of the week unless you need it sooner.” 

Bo nods. “It’s late and we are all tired. How about you all stay here tonight, and you can head home in the morning when it gets light enough out.” Bo suggests.   
“Thanks, Bo, but Peg and I will head on back to our place. It’s not far. We’ll stop over in the morning and see how you’re doing.” Henry replies with a chuckle.   
“Sophie and I will stay with you Bo. I think it would be easier on Sunshine if she woke up to find at least one woman there with her. And you should have one of us lawmen with you for a while till we catch the jerks who did this to her.” Dan comments.   
Bo nods. “Well, I have no problem staying but where is everyone going to sleep?” Joe asks.   
Henry chuckles. “Want to come stay at our place Joe?” We got a bed and such for you if you want to crash there for the night.” Joe grins, “Sure!” 

“Food’s ready!” Peg calls out from the kitchen a few minutes later. They all get up and walk to the kitchen except Joe.   
“You coming, Joe?” Sophie asks.   
“Naah, you guys go ahead. I will stay here and keep an eye on Sunshine. If she starts to stir and wake up like she did on the way here, I’ll come get you and Bo.”   
“Ok. Want me to bring you something to eat?” She asks.   
He shrugs, “If you want to. I’m ok with grabbing whatever’s left when you all get done. You all have been busting butt to keep her alive and comfortable. It’s the least I can do to give you a break and a rest. Go eat! I will be fine.” She smiles, gives him a side hug and goes to eat. 

Joe stands in the doorway of the main bedroom and looks at Sunshine. She looks so small in that big bed. She was positioned so she was laying on her left side facing the windows on the front of the house. Her broken arm and leg are propped on pillows beneath the blanket and her left arm is following the bottom edge and side of the pillow her head is resting on. The Iv is connected to the port and hangs on a hook on the wall just above the right side of the bed. He notices the bruises on her face are dark purple and that the swelling has gone down quite a bit near her eye. She is breathing shallowly because of the broken ribs. 

He marvels that she has survived and prays she is able to bounce back from all this and thrive. He glances off to the side of the door and sees the tiny casket. His heart aches for her loss. He wonders if it is wise to keep it in the room. He bends down, picks it up and holds it. Looking at the engraving on the lid with the first and middle names on it that he picked out. He shakes his head a little and sighs quietly.  
Standing there leaning against the door, he doesn’t hear Boaz come up behind him. “Penny for your thoughts.” Bo says quietly so as to not startle the big guy. Joe whips around to see Bo standing there with a plate of food and a mug of cocoa.

“I was just thinking about all she has gone through and it still amazes me she is alive, Bo. I don’t think I would have survived all that if it was me. I just wish this little guy wouldn’t have gotten caught in the crossfire, though.” Joe says quietly as he turns and walks over to the front door of the house and places the casket lovingly near the doorway off to the side so no one would bump it. He walks back to Boaz and reaches out for the mug and plate heaped with food. 

Joe leans against the door casing again and looks in at Sunshine, asleep in the bed. Bo nods as he moves up next to him on the other side of the door casing and looks into the room too. “There are very few who could survive it. She has a strength that she is able to draw from somewhere deep inside her, but I worry about how long that will last.” 

Joe looks at him with a concerned and puzzled expression. “Why?” he asks.   
Boaz rubs his chin and says, “Because now comes the hard part.” Bo says with a sigh. 

Joe looks at him still puzzled.   
He looks at Joe and says, “Recovery. She is going to experience such pain and not just the physical, Joe. She has a lot of emotional wounds that we can’t see. She most likely has buried many painful memories; and we won’t know what will trigger them until it happens. She has to learn to trust US first, then men in general. That we won’t hurt her and will help console her when these wounds are triggered. Plus, there is the worry that the man who did this to her might still be out there (until he is caught, and convicted and behind bars). It will be a lot of baby steps forward and backwards with her and it will take time.” 

Joe nods. “What can we do to help her with all that?” he asks.   
Bo rubs his chin and thinks. “All we can do is just be there for her. Letting her see us interact with Peg and Sophie in a healthy, positive way. Making sure we are including her in our lives and daily showing her love and compassion. Making sure someone is there to comfort her as much as we can when she is upset or hurting. Help her feel safe. Control our tempers and not used raised voices around her. Show small acts of kindness towards her, and making sure we encourage her a lot and praise her when she does reach little milestones.”

Joe nods and takes a swig of the cocoa, burning his mouth.   
Boaz chuckles. “Careful, it’s hot.” He says.   
Joe chuckles, “Ya could’ve mentioned that a little sooner Doc.” Joe replies smacking his tongue on the roof of his mouth trying to soothe the burn.   
Boaz smirks. 

“Thanks for the food Bo. You go sit and eat. You look exhausted and will need your strength to take care of her over the next few days. I’ll stay here with her for now till you’re done eating.” 

Bo pats Joe’s back and nods his thanks. Then moves off to the kitchen to grab food and coffee. 

Joe sets the hot cocoa down on the dresser by the door then turns and looks around the entry area/living room. He spots a bench near the door and grabs it. He brings it over by the bedroom door and sets it down. He grabs his cocoa and sits on the bench with his back against the wall. He looks in the room to make sure he didn’t disturb Sunshine and then sets his mug of cocoa next to him on the bench and starts eating his food. 

Peg comes after a while and takes the empty plate and mug. Joe gives her his thanks and waits for Boaz or Sophie to finish eating. When everyone finishes their food and the dishes have been washed and put away, they head back into the living room/ entryway. Joe stands up and Sophie comes over to change places with him. Peg, Henry and Joe get ready to leave. They say goodbye and head out into the darkness. A few minutes later their truck can be heard heading back down the driveway. 

Dan and Bo sigh and yawn. “Dan you can sleep in my bed if you want. I’ll take the couch and Soph, you can bunk up on the bed with Sunshine if you want. It’s plenty big for the both of you.”   
She laughs remembering why they had to get such a big bed. Dan chuckles and looks into the master bedroom at the huge bed, “I forgot you had such a big bed, Bo.” 

Boaz grins, remembering how Abbie used to knee him in the back and groin at night while they slept together during the first month after they had married. He didn’t want them to sleep in separate beds, so he looked for the biggest one he could find that was reasonably priced. “You do what you’ve got to in order to protect the crown jewels.” He says with a smirk. 

They all bust up laughing and cover their mouths trying to muffle the noise. Dan slaps him on the back, “You sure you want to sleep on the couch and not your bed in the guest room?”   
Bo nods, “It’ll be easier for me to check on Sunshine. You go ahead and take my bed in the guest room.” Boaz replies and Dan nods.   
He walks over to Soph, gives her a kiss and tells her goodnight. 

Bo walks up to her after Dan heads for the guest bedroom. “Come wake me up if she starts stirring and waking up or if anything else happens. Ok?”   
She nods. And gives him a hug. “Go to sleep big guy. You’re gonna need it for tomorrow.” He nods and heads for the couch.

Sophie walks into the master bedroom and sits on the edge of the bed and removes her shoes. She sets them off to the side where they won’t be tripped over and crawls into the bed close enough to Sunshine that she will be able to tell if the woman starts stirring or waking up. Sleep finds her quickly and she nods off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More chapters coming! Thanks for continuing to read this story! Feedback is always appreciated as is kudos and don't forget to bookmark the story and subscribe so you get chapter updates! :)


	24. NEW SURROUNDINGS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunshine wakes in a completely new environment now that she was transported safely away from the hospital, where the brothers would certainly come looking for her. How will she respond to the new surroundings and with only Bo and Peggy taking care of her?

Chapter 24   
NEW SURROUNDINGS

  
Sunshine groans and tries to roll over. Pain shoots through her entire body and she stops moving. She opens her eye to see where she is. The last thing she remembers is the big green-eyed lawman singing to her. She can’t remember his name though. She looks around, confused, because this isn’t the same room she was in before. Then she remembers that the doctor and the sheriff had said they were going to take her someplace safer and more comfortable. She tries to look around, but it is quite dark in the room. 

She is laying on her left side and there is a couple windows in front of her. She can see a faint glow through the curtains. Looking around she sees the typical furnishings of a bedroom and realizes she is in the biggest bed she has ever seen in her life. She also hears someone snoring faintly behind her. 

“Wait! WHO is sleeping with me in the bed?!?” she wonders. She begins to panic for a minute. She tries to look behind her, but she can’t turn her neck far enough. She brings her left arm around to pull the blanket up over her right shoulder more and her hand touches something incredibly soft. “They brought the blanket with for me!” 

She smiles as best she can and rubs her fingers on the velvety blanket. Looking down towards the end of the bed she sees there is a door that is open. Through the doorway she can make out a couch, coffee table, two wingback chairs and a massive fireplace that is burning low and casting a warm light in the room. She can just make out a figure sleeping on the couch, his face visible from where she lay. 

She tries to adjust herself a little bit as her hip is starting to hurt. She lets out a quiet moan. The figure behind her moves and she feels the person get up and out of the bed. She hears footsteps and then Sophie comes into her line of sight near the foot of the bed. Sophie comes around to the other side of the bed and smiles when she sees Sunshine has woken up. “How are you feeling, Sweetie?” She asks quietly. 

Sunshine scrunches her face as if she is in pain. And motions to her right hip and leg. “Are they hurting?” Sophie asks. Sunshine nods. “How bad do they hurt? 1-being not much 5-being REALLY bad.” Soph asks.   
Sunshine holds up 4 fingers. “Anything else hurt?” Sophie asks. 

Sunshine nods and tries to point to her back. “Your shoulder hurting?” Sophie asks, confused. Sunshine shakes her head, frustrated. She motions to Sophie to sit on the bed. Sophie does, and Sunshine grabs her arm and pulls like she wants her to move closer to the head of the bed. Sophie does. Then Sunshine motions for Sophie to turn a bit. Soph does and Sunshine runs her fingers down Sophie’s back mimicking the whipping wounds. “OH! Your back hurts where the wounds are!?!” Sophie whispers excitedly when she turns back to face Sunshine. 

Sunshine nods. “How bad do they hurt?” Sophie quietly asks. Sunshine holds up 5 fingers. “Ok, sweetheart, I’ll go wake Bo and see what he wants to do.” 

Just then they hear someone clearing their throat quietly. Sunshine startles and almost rolls onto her back. She grimaces. Sophie stands and grabs Sunshine as she starts to roll. Sunshine whimpers as Sophie had grabbed her right shoulder to steady her from rolling too far forgetting that there was pillows to stop Sunshine. “Sorry, Hun.” Sophie says. Sunshine nods still grimacing and biting her lip to keep from crying out. 

Sophie looks up to see Boaz standing at the foot of the bed looking concerned. “She ok?” he asks. “When did she wake up?” 

Sophie stands up. “She just woke up a few minutes ago. I heard her moaning a bit and she had been trying to shift positions. She indicated her hip and leg and back were really hurting. I was just going to get you when you startled us.”   
He nods. “How bad is the pain?” he asks. Sunshine points to her leg and hip then holds up 4 fingers. Then she tries to point to her back and holds up 5 fingers. Bo looks confused, and glances at Sophie.   
She chuckles and says, “I was confused too till she had me turn and she ran her fingers down my back like the whipping wounds she has. Apparently her back is at a level 5 pain and the hip and leg are at a 4.” Boaz nods. 

“Sweetheart, will you let me listen to your heart and lungs again before I go get you something for the pain?”   
She looks scared for a minute, but Sophie smiles and says, “I’ll be right here, Hon, it’ll be ok.” Sunshine gives him a small nod. 

He slowly comes around to the right side of the bed and kneels down. He slowly reaches out to brush away some hair getting in Sunshine’s eye. She flinches when he touches her. “I’m just checking to see if you have a fever as well as the pain, Honey. No worries.” He says smiling at her. “Soph, where did you put my stethoscope?”

She walks over to the nightstand by the door. “Right here, Bo.” She says as she picks it up and brings it back over to him. He puts it on and warms the metal disk in his hand for a few seconds. “Ready?” He asks Sunshine. She nods.   
He pulls the blanket down from her shoulders and has Sophie go back to the other side of the bed. “How about we put you on your back for a little bit. It’s going to hurt for a few minutes, but once we get the pain meds in you, you’ll feel better. Ok, Hon?” He purrs. 

Sunshine grimaces, but nods. She understands what he was implying. Bo has Sophie pull the pillows out from behind Sunshine’s back, leg and arm. Then, carefully as they can, they turn her onto her back. She squeezes her eye shut and some tears come out, but she doesn’t cry out till her back touches the mattress. She lets out a strangled cry and then bites her lip hard. 

Bo notices it and gently says as he caresses the left side of her face, “Hey… hey …sssshhh…it’s ok. Don’t bite your lip. I know it hurts when we move you right now, but no one is going to get upset if you need to cry out or just cry. Ok? We have to move you like this from side to side or you’ll end up with some very nasty and painful bed sores, which we want to avoid at all costs.” She opens her eye and big tears roll out. Bo gently wipes them away. 

“I’m going to listen to your heart and lungs now and then I will go get you something for the pain. It might make you a little sleepy too. It’s still nighttime and this should help you sleep till morning.” She nods.   
He puts the stethoscope’s earpieces into his ears and takes the disc and places it on her chest and listens, he moves it around a few times listening to her heart, and then both lungs. Checking for any signs of Pneumonia returning. It sounds clear, to his relief. He smiles and removes the disk from her skin. He slowly gets up, walks over to her chart and writes down the approximate time she woke up and notes her heart rate and breathing. 

Then he goes over to one of the dresser drawers and unlocks it. He digs through the medications that Peg had put in there. He realized he had a few options: cocaine, Pernocton, aspirin + valerian tea, or just plain aspirin. He thought for a few minutes which would be best for her tonight. He was hesitant to use more Pernocton, because he knew it tended to have amnesia as a side effect. She already had to deal with that just from the head injury. He had been giving her the 6.6 c.c. standard dose and it would knock her out for about 4 hours. He looks at his pocket watch. It was almost 3am. He yawns. If he gave her one more dose of the Pernocton, she should wake up around 7am. Then they could try aspirin to relieve pain. He decides to stay away from the opiates if at all possible. Too many people were getting addicted to them these days. 

He grabs the syringe and the bottle of Pernocton and dials up one last dose for her. He puts the bottle back in the dresser drawer, closes it and locks it. He sets the syringe on the tray that sat on top of the dresser. He turns and walks back over to Sophie and Sunshine. He sits on the edge of the bed and asks Sunshine, “I noticed when we went to give you that dose of medicine to knock you out for the trip that you were scared of getting a shot. Am I correct?” She looks at him warily and nods. “Have you always been afraid of shots?” he asks gently. She thinks for a minute and shrugs with her left shoulder. “Is it because of something the man did to you who beat you up?” he questions.

She closes her eye and thinks back to all the times that horrible man tortured her with needles. And she nods, tears escaping her eyes.” Bo’s heart aches when he realizes that is exactly why she fears needles. The man abused her somehow with them. Bo reaches over and gently wipes away the tears. She flinches at his touch. 

“Sweetheart, I don’t know what that man did to you with needles that has made you so afraid of them, but I promise you I won’t do that to you.” She opens her eye and turns her head to look at him. She looks up into his sad, blue eyes and sees pain and concern in them. She knows he is telling her the truth. 

He looks down at her arm where the port is. Peg had wrapped a cotton bandage around her whole wrist where they had inserted the port slightly above the wounds from the rope that had bound her wrists when she had been found. The only thing that could be seen is the bandage and the hose sticking out of it. “Sweetheart, look here.” He says gently bringing her hand up so she could see the port. “Do you see this?” he asks. 

She looks at it confused, and nods. “We call this a ‘Port’. It lets us connect an Iv bag of medicine or just water to it so we can get it into you with out having to give you lots of shots. See this tube here?” he explains. She nods. “I can take a syringe of medicine, and put the needle part into the tube and push down the plunger of the syringe and it pushes the medicine into the tube which leads to one needle going into your blood vessel. It makes getting shots and Iv fluids painless. Will you let me give you the medicine this way? I promise you won’t feel anything other than my hand gently holding your arm still.”   
She looks up to his face then over to Sophie’s. Sophie is smiling and nodding. “It’s ok, Sweetie, you won’t feel any pain.” Sunshine looks down at the port and at Boaz’s hand holding hers. He is stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. She thinks for a minute. 

Boaz can see she is trying to make sense of what he just told her. He knows she doesn’t fully trust him yet. He hopes she will let him do this with out fighting him on it. 

“Sweetie, you don’t have to watch him give it to you if you don’t want to. You can close your eye or look somewhere else if you want. Like when you looked at Joe while he sang to you!” Sophie says, smiling at Sunshine.   
Sunshine looks up at her and screws her lip on the left side as she tries to decide if she will let the doctor give her the medicine this way. Finally, she yawns and grimaces at the pain the broken ribs cause. She doesn’t realize it, but she squeezes Boaz’s hand when she does so. He gives her a reassuring, gentle squeeze back. She looks at him and then down to their hands and then back up to him. He squeezes it gently again and gives her a hopeful smile. She closes her eye and gives a small sigh and nods.

Bo pats her hand gently and says, “I will be right back with it.” He slowly gets up and moves back to the dresser and picks up the syringe. Still keeping it out of sight he walks back to the bed side where he had sat a moment ago. “Are you ready?” He asks her. She nods. He clamps off the saline Iv and disconnects it from the port. “Have you decided if you are going to look away or watch?” He inquires.   
She nods to her hand indicating she wants to see how he does it. “Are you sure?” He asks as he raises an eyebrow and keeps looking at her. She nods.   
“Ok, but you need to keep your arm very still, ok?” he tells her.   
She looks up at him and nods. 

He slowly brings the syringe up and removes the cover from the needle. He gently holds her hand and turns it enough so that the port faces up. He takes the port in between his thumb and index finger while keeping the rest of his fingers and heel of his hand resting lightly on the bandage near the port. He slowly pushes the needle into the opening of the port and looks up at her. Her eye is open, and watching him intently. He looks back at the syringe and pushes the plunger in slowly. “You’re gonna get sleepy real soon now. When you wake up it should be morning. Ok?” 

She looks up at him and studies his face and he can see she is already fighting to stay awake. He slowly removes the needle from the port and places the cap back onto the needle. He sets it next to him on the bed and says to her, “It’s ok, Sweetheart, go to sleep. I’ll be here with you and Sophie will stay till Peg gets here in the morning. Ok?” Sunshine nods and closes her eye and lets sleep claim her. Her head lolls to the side and she is out like a light. 

Boaz looks at Sophie and chuckles. “Well that went a whole lot easier than I thought it was going to be.”   
She smiles. “That’s cuz she is learning to trust you.” She says as she pats his shoulder and yawns. “Now can we all get back to sleep? Morning will be here before we know it.” 

Bo chuckles and stands up. His back pops as he stretches. He grabs the syringe and walks over to the dresser and places it on top of the tray in a small bowl that Peg had left there for him to put the used syringes in. She would clean them and disinfect them in the morning when she got there. He heads for the door and turns just before going out of the room and tells Soph, 

“Good night Soph. Wake me if you need anything or if she needs anything.” 

Soph nods, yawns and snuggles back down into the bed for a few more hours of sleep. Bo walks over to the fireplace and looks at the hot coals that are left. He leans down and picks up the poker and jostles the coals a bit nocking loose the ash. He puts the poker back in the stand then grabs some hardwood logs and carefully puts them on the hot coals and blows on them till the logs catch fire. He banks it up enough that it should last till morning. Then he goes over and sits down on the couch. He watches the flames dance for a bit and then lays down facing the fire and pulls the blanket back over his shoulders and torso. He shoves the pillow under his head and lets sleep claim him once again. 

Morning comes and Bo wakes to the sound of birds chirping and Sophie moving around in the bedroom. She has shut the door and he assumes she is changing clothes. He stretches and yawns and grabs his pocket watch out of his pants. He is surprised when he sees it is almost 9am. He looks up onto the mantle where his father’s old clock sat and realizes he forgot to wind it up before he left and that it didn’t get wound at all yesterday. He tosses the blanket up onto the back of the sofa and stands up.   
The fire had gone out of the fireplace and the room was a little cool. “I suppose it’s time I start the furnace now that I have a guest here who is going to need to stay warm.” He reminds himself. He walks over to the mantle and takes the clock down. He looks at his pocket watch and turns the knobs on the back of the mantle clock so that the time is correct then he winds it up so it keeps time for the day. As he places it on the mantle, Sophie opens the door and sees him standing there. She giggles and he turns around. 

“Nice hair.” She says giggling.   
Bo smiles and runs his hands through his shaggy black locks. “Yeah, it’s called, ‘I need a haircut and have ‘bed head’.” He says grinning.   
Just then Dan comes out of the guest bedroom yawning and stretching. He too has ‘bed head’ and wanders over to Soph and grabs her and wraps her in a big hug from behind. He rests his chin on her shoulder and asks, “Morning! How did it go last night, Love? Did everyone sleep all right?” 

She chuckles and he starts giving her kisses down her neck. She giggles and says, “It went well. Sunshine woke up once around 3am and we talked with her for a bit and then she let Bo give her some more Pernocton so she could sleep on her back without being in a lot of pain. How did you sleep?”   
Distracted with kissing her neck, he says, “Hmmm?”   
Boaz chuckles. “Dan, she asked how you slept.”   
Dan looks up and blushes, “Oh, sorry. I slept fine. You need new pillows for that bed tho. That one is flatter than a pancake!”   
Bo chuckles and Sophie swats Dan on the shoulder. “Dan!!!”   
“What?!? It’s true!”   
She rolls her eyes at him. 

“Are you boys hungry? Sunshine and I sure are! What do you want me to make for Sunshine for breakfast, Bo? She hasn’t eaten much lately. We just started her on soup yesterday.” She asks him.   
“Hmmm, let’s try some eggs and yoghurt. I think there’s some dried apricots in the cellar and see if she wants some tea. I have Peppermint, Earl Grey and English Breakfast to choose from. If there’s one she would rather have, write it down and we’ll start a list for you and Dan to bring next time you come visiting.”   
Sophie nods and steps out of Dan’s embrace. She heads back into the bedroom to talk with Sunshine. Bo can see that Sophie has propped Sunshine into a semi-sitting position and Sunshine was looking out the window up until Sophie walked in to talk to her. 

“So, what do WE want to eat?” Dan asks as he wanders over to Boaz. He sees Bo lost in thought as he watches Soph and Sunshine.   
“Hellooooo??? Earth to Boaz…” he says as he waves his hand in front of Bo’ face. 

Bo snaps out of it and looks at him with a pink tint to his face. “Huh?”   
Dan chuckles. “I asked you, what do WE want to eat besides eggs?” 

Bo rubs his chin. “Well I have oatmeal, bacon, cheese, sausages, stuff to make pancakes, ham, and peppers. You could have an omelet or pancakes, or scrambled eggs with meat and veggies. It’s up to you. I don’t really care as long as I get food.” Boaz replies, grinning. 

“I’m not much of a cook. Abbie was always the one making the good stuff.” He says sadly as he rubs the back of his neck.   
Dan looks over at him. “I figured as much when we noticed that you were losing a lot of weight. Maybe you’ll get lucky and Sunshine will be a good cook as she gets more mobile and regains her strength!” 

Bo smacks Dan up-side the head. “Are you daft? She won’t be lifting a finger around here until I say so. She is a guest and not a maid, Dan!”   
He looks at Bo sheepishly, “I know but you know how women are, Bo. They don’t like sitting around and feeling useless. She is gonna want to help eventually. Especially when she gets bored. You can’t keep her cooped up here forever.” 

Bo nods, “I know. But she has been through so much and been abused so badly, I just want her to relax and not worry about taking care of a cabin and cooking for quite a while. I know she won’t stay and will probably end up going back to wherever she came from… if she even remembers that. But for now, I just want her to relax.” 

Dan nods and pats him on the back. “Come on, let’s surprise the ladies and make them breakfast!” Dan smirks.   
Bo just laughs and follows him into the kitchen. 

A half hour later they are both carrying trays into the master bedroom for both Sunshine and Sophie. Bo made scrambled eggs and dished up a small bowl of vanilla yoghurt with slices of dried apricots on a small plate and made peppermint tea for her to drink.   
Dan had made Sophie a ham, egg and cheese omelet with diced green and red peppers, and bacon and toast. She too had a small bowl of vanilla yoghurt and some sliced dried apricots. He had a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee for her on her tray.   
Both of the ladies smiled and clapped their hands when they saw the men walk in with the trays. “Ooooohhh!!! Thank You!!! Sophie said as she plopped down on the bed next to Sunshine. She grimaced as the impact jostled her ribs a bit, but she didn’t voice a complaint or give Sophie ‘the look’.

The men set the breakfast trays down over the ladies’ laps and left to go get their own plates of food. They came back in, each with their dishes sitting on large cutting boards. The gals chuckled, and the men sat at the foot of the bed, leaning against the foot board and faced the ladies who leaned against the headboard. 

Sunshine motions “thank you” to Boaz and he blushes slightly and gives her a smile. They all ate, communicated with each other and enjoyed the morning.   
Bo did his best to keep an eye on Sunshine while everyone chatted and ate. He wanted to see how much she ate and drank and hoped he wasn’t introducing solid food too early. She took her time eating although he could tell she was quite hungry. She got down most of the eggs and a few Spoonfuls of the yoghurt and nibbled on some of the apricot strips. She drank all of the tea and when it was gone, she looked up at him and gave him a puzzled look. She looked from him to her cup and back to him again. He could tell she was trying to figure out how to ask him for more tea. He debated waiting to see if she figured out a way to ask him, but he could tell she was getting frustrated. 

“Sunshine, is your cup empty? Would you like some more tea?” He asks her. She looks up at him and then down at her cup and nods quickly. He chuckles. “Are you done eating, or do you want more?” She pauses and looks at the tray of food. She picks up the plate of apricots and puts it next to her then slides the tray a little way down her legs. He gets off the bed and sets his cutting board tray down on the bed. He picks up her plate and sets it on top of his empty one and places their used silverware on top of the plate. Then he picks up her bowl of yoghurt. “Want me to save this for you to have later?” he asks her. 

She nods. He sets it on top of the cutting board, then he sets his cutting board tray on top of her tray, and then picks up the whole lot and says, “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.” And winks at her before heading out of the room.   
Sunshine looks puzzled for a minute then smiles a little bit. She tries to roll onto her left side but Sophie stops her. “Hang on there, Sunshine. We need to change those bandages from last night before you lie down for a nap.” Sunshine groans and shakes her head, ‘no’.

“Yup. I know you don’t like us doing it, but would you rather they get infected? That would make you feel a whole lot worse than you do now!” Sunshine grumbles, and tries to cross her arms across her chest, but grimaces when the skin across her shoulder blades protests the movement. A couple tears roll down her cheeks in frustration.   
“I know, honey, I know.” Sophie says as she rubs her hand on Sunshine’s shoulder gently. She is surprised when Sunshine doesn’t flinch at the touch. Sunshine lets out a little sigh and looks over to the window where the curtain had been pulled open.   
Dan chuckles.

Just then Boaz comes back in with the tea in his hand. He sits down slowly on the bed near Sunshine. He could see she was upset about something. “Hey…” he says as he gently caresses her cheek. She flinches at the touch, but looks up at his Sapphire eyes. She sees they are full of concern.   
“… you ok?” he asks. She looks over at Sophie. He follows her gaze and looks at Soph with questioning eyes. 

“She was trying to lie down on her side and I asked her to wait cuz we need to change the bandages and make sure the wounds are staying clean.” She explains.   
He nods, understanding why Sunshine now looks like she does. He looks back at Sunshine and says, “I know it’s not your favourite thing to have done, Sweetheart, but it will get better and less painful the more the wounds heal, ok? Here, have some of the Peppermint tea I made for you. Careful, it got a little hotter than I usually make.” She takes the cup from him with trembling hands and sips on the tea. 

“Want me to put these apricot slices on the side table here so you can munch on them later?” he asks her. She looks up at him and nods. He takes the plate and sets it on the side table.   
Dan, who was silently watching this whole exchange, clears his throat. “Hun, are you done eating? I can take your tray and go start on the dishes if you two want to do the bandage thing now.” She looks at him and knows he doesn’t want to be in there for that. 

She chuckles, “Yeah, Hon, I’m done. You can go do dishes if you want.  
He gets up and sets his tray on top of hers and carefully carries it out to the kitchen. They both chuckle at his squeamishness and turn their attention to Sunshine. Who is looking out the window and doing her best to sip the tea with a shaking hand. 

Bo looks over to Soph and rubs his chin. “There has to be a way to do this that doesn’t cause her so much anxiety.” He whispers to Sophie, “But how?”   
He stands up and starts collecting the things they will need. He lays them all out at the foot of the bed. Sunshine is watching him warily out of the corner of her eye.   
When he has everything laid out, he comes and stands on the right side of the bed. He squats down and puts his elbows on the mattress. He sticks his head in his hands and looks at Sunshine. “Honey, how can we do this, so it doesn’t cause you so much anxiety and pain? How can we make it easier on you? Do you have any ideas?” 

She looks at him surprised that he cares about her enough to ask that. She closes her eye and scrunches up her face. She thinks about how they had her sitting up last time so that they could get at her back and then they had her lie on her side so they could get the wounds on her ass. It was too much moving around for her and it made the pain hurt too bad. She cracks her eye open and sees Bo still there looking at her patiently waiting for her to answer.

She motions that she wants to write. He smiles and stands up and walks over to the crate of stuff and digs around for a minute. “Soph, did you guys pack the clip board and note pad and pencil she was using at the hospital?”   
“I’m not sure. But the book and pencils you bought for her are over there on the desk. She could use those.” Soph replies. 

He walks over to the desk and picks up the journal / drawing book and a pencil and brings them back over to her. “Here, try these.” He says as he helps get the pencil situated comfortably in her hand. He holds the book open for her so she can write comfortably. 

She writes: _lay me down on my belly?… easier to change bandage & clean wounds…not move me as much? Not sit to wrap bandage? Do them laying down?_

Bo reads what she wrote. “Well we could give it a try. We might have to sit you up though to do the shoulder figure 8 wrap around each shoulder though. We’ll see. Do you want to change into a clean hospital gown? I got you a couple night gowns, but I think we should wait with you wearing them until you don’t need the bandages on your torso any longer. You are welcome to try the house coat and slippers over there though if you decide you want to sit and look out the window or read. We have the wheelchair so if it is nice outside, we can wheel you out there and you can sit on the deck if you like.” She smiles and nods. 

“Well are you ready to let us change the dressings? Done with the tea for now?” He says when he notices she hasn’t drunk any more out of the cup. She looks at the cup, takes a few more sips and holds it out for him to take. He reaches out to take it from her and lets his fingers glaze over hers. Their touch sends a little jolt of electricity through both of their bodies. 

Sunshine looks at him with a wide eye for a moment and he smiles warmly at her. He sets the cup on the side table by the apricot slices. Then looks back at her.   
She lets out a small sigh and nods. 

They help her scoot down further into the mattress and Sophie moves all the pillows out of the way. Then they help her turn onto her stomach and they loosen the ties on the back of the hospital gown. She slides her left arm out of the sleeve with some grimacing and wimpers, as her ribs and back protest and they gently slide the gown out from under her. Sophie works it off of the cast on her arm. 

“Are you comfortable now, Honey?” Sophie asks. Sunshine nods, the left side of her face resting on the mattress. Bo tells her she will feel cool metal here and there as they cut away the cotton bandages. She nods. Then hisses a little as the cool metal touches her skin. He carefully works to cut away each set of bandages and they gently pull them out from under the woman and off of her wrists as well.   
“Ok, Sweetheart, we’re going to take the giant bandage off now. Ready?” Bo tells her.   
She nods. 

He gently grabs one corner by her shoulder and gingerly peels it back. It only sticks in a couple places on her shoulder blades and on her butt where her body’s pressure had made it bleed a bit more with the josteling she received the night before. He was surprised that none of the stitches had broken open and none of the wounds had split open. He smiled at that little triumph. “It looks good, Sweetheart. We’re just going to clean it up now with a warm washcloth and soap. Then we’ll put some ointment on it to keep the wounds from drying out and cracking open, ok? It’ll help keep it from getting infected too.” She nods.

Sophie hands him the wet washcloth and soap. She tucks a towel on each side of Sunshine’s torso to catch any water that runs off her body. Bo gently starts with her wrists then gently washes the right side of her face, neck and shoulders and cleans the wounds with slow, gentle movements. Being extra careful not to catch the stitches on the washcloth. Then he has her turn her face and asks Sophie to get the other side of her face, neck and shoulder, which she does.   
Sunshine turns her face back so the left side was against the mattress again. Bo cleans her back in four sections. One at a time. Washes it, then rinses it. Then moves on to the next section and repeats the process. Sophie changes out the water in the basin as it got dirty, and brings Bo fresh water. Then he cleans the wounds on her butt. She whimpers when he gets to them since that was SO much more sensitive than her back was. He tries to be gentle, but it still causes her some pain. Finally he moves to the wounds on her right hip and leg, gently cleaning them.

When she is all cleaned, he lets the wounds air dry and then takes the ointment and starts to gently put it on her wounds. She lays fairly still through this whole ordeal. He still feels her trembling when he is touching her, but she isn’t squirming like she did at the hospital. Her eyes are still closed, and he wonders if she is falling asleep, but then she whimpers when he goes to put the ointment onto her butt’s and leg’s wounds.

Finally he decides to change out the casting material on all the casts she has. Checking the breaks to make sure the ones that pierced the skin on her leg and arm are healing properly and not getting infected. He recasts the arm and leg and rewraps the wounds on her wrists from the ropes with new bandages, making sure the port stays where it’s supposed to.

“Ok, Sweetheart, that wasn’t too bad was it?” He asks her. She shakes her head ‘no’. “Ready for the new, giant bandage?” he asks. She whimpers a little and nods. He and Sophie kneel on either side of the woman and gently place the folded cotton sheet onto her back and butt. She winces and lets out a whine when it touches the skin, but stays fairly still. 

“Now, the trick is trying to figure out how to wrap the bandages around you while you’re laying like this, Sweetheart.” Bo says softly to Sunshine. “We’re just going to have to do this by trial and error. Bear with us and remember we are not trying to hurt you, ok? We want to find a way to do this that gives you the least amount of pain.” She whimpers and nods. 

He looks at how she is laying. “Soph, let’s start by wrapping the one around her waist first. Maybe it will anchor it better for us.” she nods. “You have smaller arms than me. Can you be the one to slide the bandages under her and I’ll grab them from you and wrap them around her back?” 

Sophie says, “Sure thing, Doc.” He looks up at her and smirks, giving her a raised eyebrow.   
She chuckles. They get Sunshine’s bandage wrapped around her waist pretty easily. 

Bo, pauses and tries to decide which one to do next, the legs or the shoulders. He thinks about what Sunshine wrote: not move me as much. He knows the more they move her, the more pain she is in. So, he decides to wrap her upper thighs next so that IF they need to sit her up to do the upper part, it will be less jostling for her. He looks down at her. “You doing ok yet, Sweetheart?” She nods. “Ok. I think we’ll try wrapping your thighs and tucking the corners of the sheet in to anchor them in the bandages, ok?” She nods. 

Bo gently grabs her leg to swing it towards him to give him a little more room to work with between her thighs. Her leg muscles instinctively tighten when he touches her inner thigh near the knee. “Relax, Sweetheart, I’m not going to hurt you or touch you inappropriately. Sophie is here and you’re safe. I need you to relax your leg and let me swing it to the side a little more. I need the room so we can get the bandage wrapped around your thigh high enough to catch enough of the corner of the sheet, so it won’t pull out when you are sitting up. Can you do that for me, Honey?” It takes her a minute to relax the leg. He can feel it trembling under his hands. She lets him move her leg, but he can tell she isn’t fully relaxing it either. There’s still some resistance. She doesn’t fully trust him going there yet.

He starts to wrap the bandage and when he goes to tuck it under her thigh. She instinctively tightens her leg again. “Relax Honey. I need to get the bandage under your leg. You’re doing great. Just take a breath and relax.” He coaxes her with his ‘panty melting’ voice, as Peg put it. She takes a shallow breath and slowly lets it out. He feels her relax her leg just enough for him to tuck the bandage under it and he quickly works to get it wrapped a few more times. Finally that leg is wrapped and he tucks the corner of the sheet under several of the layers of the bandage, he folds the corner over the spot where he started the knot and then ties the rest of the knot over the top of the corner. Anchoring it in place so it won’t move.

“Good job, Sweetheart!” he tells her, “One leg done, one to go. You still doing ok? Do you need a break or something to drink?” She shakes her head, ‘yes, then no’. He chuckles. “If you need us to stop and give you a break, just reach over and tap my leg ok?” Her eye opens wide in surprise, and she gives a small nod. “Ready for the other leg?” He asks. She nods. He repeats the process with the right leg, but has to modify it slightly due to the cast. They get it figured out and get the sheet anchored. “You’re doing great, Sweetheart! Now we just need to figure out how to do the top part without having to sit you up…. Unless you want to sit up. It’s up to you.” She shakes her head ‘no’.

“I have an idea, Bo…” Sophie says. She takes the end of the bandage. “Honey, I’m gonna slide my arm under your right arm here. Can you reach across and take the end of the bandage and pull it across your chest for me and hand it to Bo? Sunshine looks up at her puzzled. Sophie tucks her hand that is holding the bandage and slides it under the casted arm and stops just in front of Sunshine’s arm pit. “Reach across with your left arm and see if you can grab the end of the bandage I’m holding.” Sophie says.   
Sunshine slowly brings her left hand under her upper chest and up to her right arm pit and slides her hand across her chest and finds Sophie’s fingers holding out the end of the bandage. Sunshine grabs hold of it and slowly pulls it across her chest and out the left side far enough for Boaz to reach it. She lets it go and waits to see what they do next. “Is it smooth and not twisted?” Sophie asks her. Sunshine reaches back under and makes sure the bandage isn’t twisted. Then nods. 

“Ok, Bo, you take that end and bring it across the sheet here and hand it to me and we do this a couple more times.” He does so, and Sophie takes the end and again, tucks it under the right arm that is casted and waits for Sunshine to reach across her chest between her body and the mattress, and pull the bandage across her chest and out the other side. She makes sure to keep the bandage smooth and without twists. She hands it to Bo each time and he brings it across the back and hands it to Sophie. They do this one more time then when Bo hands Sophie the roll of bandage, she goes under the cast, over the shoulder, across the back to the left arm pit and has Bo tuck it under the arm pit and bring it up over the shoulder and across the back again. Thus making the first figure 8. 

They repeat the process till they run out of bandage. Sophie snips the end into two sections, wraps them around a chunk of the bandages and ties it off. “Taa Daa!” We bandaged her with out having to sit her up!” She says, beaming.   
“What do you think, Sunshine, would you be able to handle Bo doing this by himself if Peg and I can’t be here for some reason?” Sunshine closes her eye for a minute, then cracks it open and gives a tiny nod. Bo smiles and mouths to Sophie, “Thank you!” She nods. 

“Ok, now to get you in a new hospital gown. For this, you are going to have to sit up, Sweetheart, just long enough for us to get it wrapped around your front, then you can lay down again, ok?” Sophie says to Sunshine. Sunshine just wimpers. Sophie gets the gown on Sunshine’s right arm and over the cast. Then she tucks as much as she can under Sunshine. Then Sunshine gets an idea and before they can reach to try to sit her up, she reaches under herself suddenly like she did when they wrapped the first bandage around her chest. She fumbles around feeling for the corner of the gown. When she thinks she has found it she starts to pull it across her chest and manages to get it almost all the way out near her left armpit before it bunches up too much for her to pull. 

Bo sees what she is doing and asks, “Would you like me to help with that?” She freezes and then lets go of the fabric and nods. She lets him gently pull the rest of it out and helps her get her arm into the sleeve. She grimaces and lets out some whimpers cuz the movements pull at the skin across her shoulder blades again, but they manage to get it on enough to tie. She smiles as much as she can, happy that she didn’t have to sit up and expose herself anymore than she already has to the doctor. 

They praise her for her cleverness, and she blushes. “Ok, so now to turn you back over. You’ll have to lie on your back for a few hours to give your hip and shoulder a break from the pressure, ok? It’s gonna smart when we lay you down and when you try to shift at all, but this is what we gotta do, ok?” Sophie tells her. She sighs and nods.

They count to three and turn her onto her left side. She touches Bo’s leg, indicating she needs a minute break. They give her a minute to catch her breath and wait for the pain to subside before they finish the turn. She cries out when her back and butt touch the mattress. Tears come rolling out of her eyes and she squeezes them shut. 

Bo murmurs to her trying to comfort her and he runs his hand through her curls at the top of her head. He grabs a clean hankie and wipes her tears. Once she has recovered from it all she closes her eye and turns her head and tries to fall asleep. Bo and Soph notice she is tired and clean things up quietly. 

Bo sits at the side of the bed and gently picks up her hand. “Sweetheart?” he says quietly. She cracks an eye open and looks at his sapphire eyes. Do you need anything for the pain or can you manage it ok?” he asks. She shakes her head, ‘no’ and closes her eye again. He quietly says, “ok. We’ll let you rest for a while.” If you need anything, I brought you a bell, so just ring it and one of us will come in and check on you ok?” She opens her eye again and looks around for the bell. 

He holds up his hand and shows her the bell and rings it so she can hear how clear it sounds. She is surprised it is as loud as it is considering how small it is. She gives him a half smile and nods. He places the bell in her left hand and gives it a pat. “Get some rest now. We’ll be in the living room or the kitchen if you need us.” She nods and closes her eye.

He stands and reaches down and strokes her head for a minute. “I’m proud of you for figuring out a way for us to help you be in less pain when we change the bandages. Keep it up.” He tells her. She smiles and nods but keeps her eye closed. She hears him step away from the bed and walk across the room. Then she lets sleep take her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More chapters to come. Thanks for continuing to read my story!


	25. THE SEARCH CONTINUES

Chapter 25  
THE SEARCH CONTINUES

  
It was just a little after 1pm when Jack walks into the hospital. He sees the clock on the wall near the nurse’s station. A large woman in a crisp white gown and cap is sitting there when he walks in. She looks up and asks, “Good afternoon sir, how can I help you?” He clears his throat as he walks up to her. Unsure how to go about finding the info his brother wants.   


“My sister is missing after she ran from her abusive husband. We heard she had been found in the area and had been taken to a hospital, but we don’t know which one. By any chance, was she brought here? She has auburn, curly hair and hazel eyes. She was about 7 months pregnant and I’m hoping both her and the babe are all right.” He says while playing with his fingers. 

The woman looks at him and then looks down at some papers on her desk. She can tell he is nervous about something and remembers what Boaz had told them about the brothers. “Is it just you who are looking for her? Is her husband out looking for her too?” She asks. He looks up, and says, “No, it’s just me and my brother looking for her. When he found out what happened to her, my brother put the husband in the hospital with several injuries.” 

The woman narrowed her eyes at him. “hmmm.” She says. “Well, it doesn’t look like we have anyone here matching that description. Perhaps you should check in with Sheriff Dan or Deputy Sheriff Joe. They are just down the street a block at the Jailhouse, or you can find Henry, who is our Retired Sheriff. He should be in town by now. He likes hanging out with Dan and Joe at the Jailhouse or at Louie’s for coffee and pastries. They most likely will be able to help you find the woman you’re looking for. They can contact other law enforcement faster than you can.”

Jack cringes. “Thanks, Maam, but we’d rather keep the law out of this if at all possible. Unless my sister wants to press charges.”   
The woman nods, “Suit yourself. She isn’t here, so I suppose you better keep looking elsewhere then. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some charts I need to get in order.” She says as she goes back to her work.   
“Thanks for your time and the info Maam.” He says and turns to leave.

Jack sighs, “If Ruth has woken up enough to give a description of the truck we drove, she most likely gave them a description of what we look like too, which may be why no one is giving us info.” He reminds himself. “I’m tired of running. I wonder how ‘kind’ this deputy sheriff really is. Those people we overheard the other day, seem to think he is a big pushover. I wonder if he would take the time to listen to me if I approached him off duty?” Jack pondered as he walked back outside and waited for his brother. He leaned against the wall of the hospital and pulled out a smoke. He hadn’t had one in a while since he knew Ruth hated how they made him smell.

He thought of her and the baby. He thought of their conversations and her fears. Just then he heard his brother yelling and hollering. He glanced over to the clinic doors just as two burly men in hospital staff uniforms toss him outside the door.  
He sighs, and walks over to see what got his brother so riled up. “So, any news?” he asks. Ed looks up and glares at him. “No, they said they weren’t allowed to discuss any information about patients without their consent. And that no such person matching Ruth’s description was there. I’m pretty sure they are lying though. Did you find anything out?” He asks his little brother as he stands and brushes himself off. 

“Nothing. They said no one was there that matched that description. The woman at the desk suggested we talk to the sheriff.” He replied as he puffed on the cigarette. Ed growls and snatches the cigarette from his little brother’s hand and takes a long drag of it. 

“Hmmmm. Someone is lying to us. She HAS to be in one of the hospitals SOMEWHERE nearby!” He says, frustrated.

Jack thinks for a moment. “What if we split up? I can stick around, stay here and scope out this town, see if I can spot her; and you go back and check out St.Mary’s? I can get a motel room here and you can do the same there and call me at the motel tonight and we can cover two bases at the same time since it’s most likely she is somewhere in one of these two places.” 

Ed thinks about it for a minute and then nods. “Just be careful not to get caught. I don’t want to have to come and spring you out of jail. Let’s go get you that motel room so I know where to call for tonight. Be waiting for me to call at 9pm.” Jack nods and they get back into the car and drive around till they find a motel on the edge of town. 

They get out and Ed walks with him to get a room at the front desk. Ed gives them a false name and reserves the room for three nights. The clerk says the payment will be due by 5pm on the third night. She smiles and hands them keys and tells them it’s door number 19. Ed asks what the phone number is in case he needs to receive a phone call to the room. She writes the phone number down and hands him the piece of paper. He thanks her and they leave to go back to the car. 

Ed looks at his little brother and reminds him. “Don’t cause any trouble, little brother. Or like I said, You’ll pay for it with your life.” He looks down at his brother with cold, blue eyes. “I’ll call you at 9pm, so you had better be in that room waiting next to the phone. I’ll only ring you once. If you aren’t there, there will be hell to pay!” 

Jack looks up at him and sees the deranged look in his eyes again. He nods. “I will be there waiting for your call.” He replies.   
Ed nods, slaps him on the back, then reaches into the car and grabs Jack’s suitcase. He hands it to Jack and then turns to get in the stolen car. “Talk to you at 9pm, little brother.” He says, then starts the engine and drives off. 

Jack watches him leave, then smirks. “Gotcha.” He says quietly. “Now that you aren’t there to watch my every move, I can now turn you in and frame your ass.” He grins and walks to the motel room to go see what it looks like.   
He walks to door 19 and unlocks it. He steps in and takes a look around. Looks like a regular, everyday motel room. He flips on the desk lamp and plops down his small suitcase. He decides to go for a walk and scope out the layout of the town, and it’s inhabitants. 

  
************************

Jack is walking along the streets making mental note of the different businesses and wonders where the lawmen are. He hasn’t seen them all day and he even walked by the jailhouse but it was all locked up and no one was there. He asked around to a few places and someone mentioned they saw Dan and Joe leave in two loaded vehicles last night. The person had said that Dan usually brings a load of supplies to a reclusive drunken widower who lives out in “The sticks” and that he’ll probably be in later on today. Jack asked about the retired sheriff and was informed he too lives out in “the sticks” with his wife, a retired nurse. Jack ponders this news as he wanders through town. He ends up at Happy Louie’s again and decides that since it is getting close to suppertime, he wanted some food and whiskey. 

He walks in and sees Amy, the broad who served them earlier in the day. She smiles at him and asks if he was back for more. He chuckles and nods as he takes off his smokeglasses and hat. She says, “Where’s your friend?” he replies, “Went off to another town to look for our sister. I decided to stay behind and wait. I’m tired of running with him all over the place looking for her. She obviously doesn’t want to be found and just wants to be left alone.” 

She nods and smiles. “So what can I get for you?” she asks sweetly.   
He gives her one of his flirty smiles and says, “Whiskey and some of that.” As he points to a person eating a big bowl of chili and biscuits. She chuckles. “Do you want the regular chili or the 5-alarm chili?” He looks at her confused.  
She grins, “The regular chili or the super spicy chili?” He smiles as the light bulb goes on and he gets her meaning. “Can I have a small sample of the two to see which I want?” he asks.   
“Sure!” she says and disappears to the kitchen. He waits, sitting at the bar’s counter and looks around nervously. 

She comes back a couple minutes later with two half full coffee cups of chili for him to sample, a spoon sticking out of each one. He chuckles and she sets them down on the counter. She pours him a glass of whiskey as well. He takes a spoonful of the regular chili and eats it. “Mmmmm! That’s pretty good!” he says.   
She winks. Then he takes a spoonful of the 5-alarm chili and eats it. He sputters and coughs after swallowing it. His eyes watering and he reaches for the whiskey. 

Amy laughs, and says, “I told you it was spicy! Which do you want?” she asks him, grinning.   
He coughs a few more times and pounds his chest trying to ease the burning there. “I think I’ll stick with the regular chili please. And may I have a basket of those delicious looking biscuits too?” She nods and chuckles as she grabs the two cups of chili and takes them back to the dishwasher. 

Jack sits and sips his whiskey. Thinking about Ruth and wondering where she disappeared to. Amy brings him the chili and the biscuits and he thanks her and asks if she minds if he moves to the far end of the counter by the wall. She says she doesn’t mind and goes to help some customers who just walked in.

He gets up and picks up the food and his whiskey and walks down to the far end of the bar… furthest from the windows and door. He sits down and eats and watches people for a while. He wishes he could talk to the lawmen and lay out his plan and see if they would accept it. He keeps mulling it around in his brain until he hears the bell ding on the door again.   
He looks up and can’t believe his luck….


	26. GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS

Chapter 26   
GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS

  
It’s close to 11am by the time Bo and Sophie get Sunshine situated and finish her bandage change. They are both pleased that the woman figured out a way for them to do it in a less painful way for her. Bo was glad he asked Sunshine for her opinion. Once she fell asleep he and Sophie cleaned up the mess of dirty bandages and wet towels and washcloth and went out to the living room to talk quietly now that Sunshine had a way to let them know when she wanted them. They still kept the door open to her room so they could see her from where they sat. Dan joined them after finishing the dishes. 

“When do you think she will realize that she is no longer pregnant, Bo?” Sophie quietly asks when she sees the tiny casket by the door. He shrugs. “I’m not sure, Soph. It could be she doesn’t remember cuz she’s been on the Pernocton. It has been known to cause temporary forgetfulness. She most likely will realize it once the drug has worked its way out of her system completely and she can think more clearly.” He replies. 

“I should bury the casket now though, so it doesn’t start smelling up the place.” He says as he rubs his face, not looking forward to that task. “Why don’t you wait till Henry, Peg and Joe arrive.” Dan says.   
“I’ll stay with Sunshine and you all can go bury the casket and have a little service for him.” Sophie says as she puts a hand on his. 

“Are you going to be ok here today, Bo with just you and Peg and Henry?” Dan asks. He nods, “Yeah, we’ll manage. I gotta get used to doing more of her care on my own. And she needs to get used to it also. Peg and you, Sophie, won’t always be able to be up here with us, especially once the snow starts to fly.”   
Sophie nods. They hear the bell ding and look up and chuckle as they realize Sunshine had just moved her arm in her sleep and knocked the bell on it’s side on the mattress. 

“You’re smitten with her, Bo, aren’t you?” she asks him gingerly. “I’ve seen how you looked at her when she was in the hospital, and how you’ve looked at her since you got here. The way you interact with her is adorable. I’m glad you are taking a liking to her, it’s good for you; and I daresay it has gotten you out of the rut you were in.” 

Bo looks up at her gobsmacked then looks at Dan who is grinning like a Cheshire cat. He didn’t realize he was looking at Sunshine that way, though his heart tells him that is exactly how he feels. He shakes his head trying to deny it, but is at a loss for words. 

Sophie smiles, “I know it’s not in cahoots with the ethics board, Boaz, but I think this is extenuating circumstances. You both were hurting in different ways and have found a common ground to support each other on. She helps you recover from your losses and you do the same for her. It’s just natural.” Sophie explains.   
“And because of the circumstances, this whole situation of taking care of her here is out of the ordinary” Dan reminds him. “No one should have a problem with it and you both should be fine. No worries on that end.” Bo just stares at them both in disbelief and then shakes his head and chuckles. “Nothing gets past you, does it Sophie?” he says. 

“Nope, not much.” She replies with a huge grin. 

Just then they hear a vehicle approaching. Boaz quickly stands and puts a finger to his lips indicating to Dan & Soph to stay quiet. He and Dan sneak over to the door of the cabin and Bo peers out of the side window. He is relieved when he sees it is just Henry, Peggy and Joe. He nods that it’s ok to Dan and opens the door and steps out into the cool fall air. “Hey, thought you’d never show up. Did you all sleep in?” He asks. 

Henry laughs and says “Yup! Then had a late breakfast. Had to take it easy coming here since the roads are so bad, Bo. Took us nearly an hour to get home last night. The road is really bad up by our place. The crick is close to overflowing its bank near the road.”  
Dan and Soph join Bo on the porch and they look at him in surprise. “Really? Wow! Have you checked on the trail between our places to make sure you can get back and forth between the two?” Bo asks Henry. “No, not yet. I was going to do that with Joe once we all got here. He should know how to navigate the path anyway in case of an emergency and y’all need an escape route. Bo and Dan look at each other worriedly. “Escape route?” Bo asks. Henry nods. “Yup. Just in case the idiot who beat up Sunshine somehow finds his way out here looking for her. You never know, Boaz, and it’s best to prepare for all types of possibilities.” Bo doesn’t look too happy and rubs his chin worriedly.

“Well, I need to bury her little guy, Soph thought you all might want to join me and have a little service for him. I’m going to go do that now that you all are here.” Bo states. He turns around and heads back inside and starts putting on his boots and heavy flannel shirt that he uses for chorin’ in the fall. Everyone follows him inside and waits in the entryway as he gets ready.   
“Soph, let me know if you need me, we’ll be over by the giant oak tree out there.” He says to her pointing out the window where she could see a huge oak tree about 40 yards away with a little fence around it. She nods to him and gives him a hug. “Will do, Bo. I think we’ll be fine. See you when you get back inside.” He nods and grabs his gloves. He glances down at the tiny casket and Joe bends down and picks it up. “I got him, Bo, let’s go.” Bo looks at Joe and gives him a sad smile and a nod. Henry and Dan follow them out the door. 

Peg pauses and tells Sophie that she will be back in a few minutes and to put some coffee on and get the cookies out that Henry made the night before. Soph nods and heads for the kitchen as Peg turns and walks out the door, closing it quietly. 

They all head for the tree once Boaz and Henry stop at the Barn and grab shovels and a pickax. Joe hands the tiny casket to Peg to hold and the three men start digging carefully in the spot Boaz chose for him, next to his wife’s casket so she would be flanked by each child’s grave. Once the hole was deep enough, they took the rope that Joe had grabbed from the barn and carefully lowered the casket in. Peg had picked a couple bunches of dried wildflowers on her way to the Oak tree and she tossed one bunch onto the top of the casket. They stood there quietly for a couple moments, then Henry said a few words and Joe sang a short hymn. They all shed tears for the little one caught in the crossfire of this whole debacle. 

Then Henry said a prayer for the little one and all of them who will be helping the mother recover. Then the three men began placing the dirt back on the casket. By the time they were finished, all the men were caked in mud and dirt. Peg carefully placed the remaining bouquet of flowers on top of the grave and Henry pounded in a wooden cross he had made with the child’s name on it and the dates.

They stood there looking at it for a minute and then one by one came walking back to the cabin. Henry and Dan stopped briefly at the barn to replace the shovels and pickaxe and rope, then continued back to the cabin. Bo was the last one to leave. He sank to his knees at his wife’s grave and cried now that he was alone. He told her how much he missed her, and asked her to take care of this little boy whom they buried with her and their daughter. He told his daughter to be kind to the boy and that he loved her and missed her too. 

Finally, when he had no tears left, he stood, blew his nose on his hankie, and walked back to the cabin. He stopped just outside when he heard Sophie scolding everyone for walking into the cabin when they were covered in mud. She kicked them back out onto the porch and told them to get cleaned up out there before coming inside. He chuckled.

“Well aint she just as mad as a hornet!” chuckled Henry. 

Boaz smirked. He told them to come to the rain barrel and wash off the mud from their hands, arms and faces, and then once he got his clean, he walked to the side of the cabin and grabbed the stiff bristled brush he used to scrub off the dirt from his boots and pointed to the boot scraper by the steps. “Here, use these to get as much mud and dirt off as you can from your boots and clothes. Just don’t sit in the upholstered chairs or couch when you go in. The wood chairs can be easily cleaned so sit on them if you need to sit down.” 

“Bo, I think I’ll take Joe and go check the trail before we get too cleaned up and come into the cabin. We will need to get Dan and Joe back into town before too long in case those two rascals start causing a ruckus in town. I got a call this morning from Mame that they were eating brunch at Louie’s and were asking for the location of the Hospital and clinic.” 

Boaz and Dan’s eyes get huge. “What?!?” Dan exclaims, “They’re already in town?!?”   
Henry nods. “It shouldn’t take us more that about 10 minutes to get from this cabin to ours if the path is clear. So we’ll hopefully be back in about 20 minutes to a half an hour, ok? We can leave when we get back.” Henry says. 

Dan sighs, “Peg, ring Mame, the hospital and the clinic and let them know we’ll be back in town by suppertime. To call here to Boaz’s if anything serious happens in the next half hour.”

Peg nods and heads in to make the phone calls. Boaz sits down on the steps and sighs. Dan joins him while he scrubs at his clothes with the brush. Henry and Joe head for the entrance to the trail and disappear around to the back of the cabin.  
“Bo, do you think your staff at the hospital and clinic will keep their traps shut about Sunshine?” He quietly asks.   
“They had better…” Boaz growls. “…since they were warned that if anyone reveals any information about her or her whereabouts, that they would be immediately fired.” 

Dan nods. “Why do you think they are coming back to find her?” he asks Bo. “Why didn’t they stop and take her with them when she got out of the vehicle?” Dan puzzled out loud.   
“They probably did stop, but my bet is they thought she was dead, and left her behind figuring she was no longer a threat to them.” Boaz mused. 

“So how did they know she was alive and to come looking for her?” Dan asks out loud. “Dan, you know how people talk around here.” Boaz replied grimly. “My guess is that one of your sheriff friends was overheard talking about it by someone in one of the nearby towns and that someone filled in the brothers when they asked around for info on her. The person probably believed the brothers’ story and felt sorry for them. They were probably thinking that they were helping the brothers find their sister, and didn’t realize they were putting her into more danger.”

Dan sighs. “Damnit!”   
Boaz nods. He sighs and brushes off his pants and stands to scrape his boots on the boot scraper. Then walks up onto the porch and slips out of the boots, leaving them to dry in the sun by the door casing. Dan stands and follows suit. They head in feeling dejected and discover Sophie standing there looking puzzled why there’s only two of them. “Where’s Henry and Joe?” she asks. They fill her in on where the two men went. “Oh! Ok. Well, here, have some coffee and cookies.” 

Just then they hear the bell ringing. Bo looks at the mantle clock. It shows that it’s 2:45 pm. And Dan, who was standing closest to the door, pokes his head into the doorway of the room. “Need something, Sweetheart?” He asks her. She looks up surprised and a little scared seeing him in her doorway. She nods & rubs her tummy and points to the side table where her teacup and the apricot slices are sitting. He slowly walks in and over to the side table. She gets a little agitated when she sees him come walking into the room. 

He smiles to her and says, “Here, let me get them for you, Honey. Peg and Soph are getting coffee and cookies for Boaz and me.” He picks up her teacup and the plate of apricot slices. He sets the plate slowly down next to her left arm so she could easily grab them. Then realizes she will need help sitting up to drink the tea. “Hang on a minute Doll, Let me get someone to help you sit up so you can drink the tea without spilling it all over the place.” He sets the cup back on the side table and slowly goes out to get Boaz and Sophie. 

“Bo, Sunshine is thirsty and hungry; and I gave her the plate of apricot slices to munch on, but she can’t drink the tea cuz she is still laying down. Can you and Soph come help her sit up?” He asks. Bo looks up at him and then sets his coffee cup and cookie down on the table. 

“Soph, Sunshine is awake and needs to sit up so she can drink her tea. Come help me get her into a sitting position.” Soph comes out of the kitchen, nods and follows Bo to the bedroom.

“Hey Sunshine!” Sophie says as they walk in and see her nibbling on the apricot slice she was holding. She blushes and quickly puts it back on the plate. “It’s ok, you can nibble all you want on those.” Sophie says smiling. “You thirsty?” she asks. Sunshine looks up at her and then up at Bo and nods. “Kind of hard to drink when you’re lying down like that huh?” Boaz teases Sunshine. She chuckles, then grimaces and grabs her ribs. Boaz chuckles. “Sorry Sweetheart, didn’t mean to make you hurt.” She looks up at him and just nods, then looks longingly over at the teacup. “Would you mind if I help you sit up so Soph can pile some pillows behind you?” She looks at him for a moment and he sees a brief glimpse of fear cross her face, but then she slowly nods that he can help. 

He moves the plate of apricots off the bed for a moment, then gently places one knee on the bed and bends down towards her slowly. Making sure to keep eye contact with her, he places his arm near her to brace himself on the bed. He then says, “Can you wrap your good arm around my neck, Sweetheart?” She is hesitant, unsure if she wants to. He smiles at her reassuringly. “It will help me lift you up if you could do that for me.” She thinks for a minute and then does what he asks, wrapping her small hand around his neck. He can tell she is nervous since his face is so close to hers now.   
She can smell his earthy scent and feel his breath against her neck and it sends chills running down her spine. She shivers slightly. He tells her he is going to slide his hand under her left side and will pull her up that way and to hang onto his neck while he sits her up. She nods. 

He slides his right hand under the left side of her and carefully starts to pull her up. She grabs a fist full of his hair at the back of his neck when she feels the pain of his hand putting pressure on her back’s wounds. “Shhh, Honey, I know it hurts. I’m trying to be as careful as I can. Breathe for me, Sweetheart, keep breathing. Give me a minute and Soph will have the pillows all ready for you to lean on. Ok?” He murmurs into her ear as he feels her whole body trembling.   
He feels wetness on his cheek and realizes she is crying silently. He squats back once he gets her sitting upright and holds her against him while Sophie positions the pillows. He takes his other hand and runs it through Sunshine’s hair trying to comfort her. He keeps murmuring encouragement to her till he sees Sophie is ready to help her recline against the pillows. 

“Ok, Hon,” he says as he pulls her a little bit away from him so he can see her face. “Soph has the pillows ready for you. She is going to help me slide you up a little bit so you will be more comfortable resting against the pillows, ok?” He uses his thumb to brush away her tears that trickled down her face. She flinches slightly at his touch, but not as much as she had done before. She is slowly making a connection that him touching her face won’t hurt her and that it, in fact is comforting.  
He smiles at her and she blushes a little and looks down into her lap. He asks her if she is ready and she nods. He explains that he will put one hand under her thigh and Sophie will do the same on the other side, and they will link hands there and then they will lift her from there just enough to slide her back and use their other hands to steady her back. She nods that she understands and squeezes her eye shut when they slide their hands under her legs. Bo tells her to put her good arm around his neck again and to hang on till they get her situated. She does so and lets out a small cry when they lift her and slide her back. She whimpers when her back touches the pillows, and it takes her a minute to get used to the new position they propped her in. She is still holding Bo’s hair tightly at the base of his neck. 

He scrunched up his face when she grabbed it as they had lifted her, and grimaced a bit when she yanked on it, and reaches back to try to pry her fingers open to release it once they settled her into a sitting position. “Honey, could you let go of my hair back there?” he whispers in her ear in his panty melting voice. “You’re all settled now and we shouldn’t have to move you for a while.” 

She quickly lets go, not realizing she had grabbed it in the first place. He chuckles when he moves away, rubbing the scalp where she had her death grip on his hair, and sees how red her face has gotten. He likes that look on her face and chuckles. Bo tells her it’s ok as he reaches over and hands her the cold tea. “Would you like some more hot tea or do you want to drink this cold stuff?” he asks. She looks at him holding out the cup of tea. She reaches for it, takes it and downs it in a couple gulps then hands it back with an expectant look on her face. He chuckles and asks, “Want more?” and she quickly nods her head. He hands the cup to Sophie who goes to make her more tea.

“Did you notice your new blanket?” He asks her when Sophie leaves. She gives him a funny look. He glances down and rubs his hand on the super soft purple blanket that rests on her lap. She looks down and suddenly realizes that it is the same soft blanket that she had in the hospital except it is purple and not blue. She looks up at him puzzled and grabs the edge of the blanket and starts to rub it with her fingers and thumb. “I bought this for you so you could have your own and so Sophie could have hers back. Do you like it?” he asks again, looking at her, trying to read her expression. Tears fill her eyes and she nods. He reaches over and gently cups her chin in his hand. 

She doesn’t flinch at his touch for the first time. He tilts her head gently up and says, “Honey, look at me. Why the tears?” She looks up at him and he sees deep appreciation and that she is touched by his gift. “Do you like it?” he asks again. She nods, his hand still cupping her chin gently. He smiles and traces the line of her jaw with his thumb. “I hope it continues to give you comfort and a sense of security like Sophie’s blue one did.” He says. She nods and looks back down at the blanket. Her cheeks tinged pink. Bo chuckles.

Just then the phone rings and they can hear Peg answer it. They hear her talking to someone and then she comes rushing into the room. “Bo, the Clinic is on the phone and they need to speak to you right away.” She says with a worried expression. Bo looks over to Sunshine and tells her, “I’ll be right back, Sweetheart. I need to go answer this call. Dan will stay here with you till Sophie comes back with the tea, ok?” She looks scared for a minute, and clutches the blanket, but Dan, who was standing just inside the doorway watching them, just smiles and walks over to the desk where the pile of books and the magazine sit to get out of the way of Boaz who was walking to the door. 

Dan glances down at the desk, and sees the book about birds sitting on the top. He smiles at Sunshine, and asks her, “Did anyone show you the books and magazines that Bo bought for you?” She looks at him cautiously and shakes her head, “No”. He picks up the pile and slowly makes his way over to the bed.

“He thought you might get bored staring at the ceiling or looking out the window from the bed here, so he bought you these to give you something else to look at.” He slowly sits down on the edge of the bed and places the pile near her leg where she could reach them. He holds them up one at a time to show her each one. He sees her eye light up when she sees the one on birds and the magazine about horses. “You like these then?” he asks her gently. 

She nods. “Which one would you like to look at first?” He questions as he holds up the two that she showed interest in the most. She thinks for a moment and then points to the bird book when she hears a bird outside near the window go “Chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee” and hears another one further away reply. 

Dan chuckles and hands her the book. She lays it down on her lap and opens it. She slowly looks through it page by page. Each page has a picture of a bird that has been hand painted with watercolors, and each page has basic information about the bird, it’s habitat, what it eats, and so forth. She is so engrossed in it that she doesn’t notice when Sophie comes back in with her tea. 

Dan looks up at Sophie and sees she is worried. He slowly stands and pulls her over to the corner of the room. “What is it, Honey?” he asks. She looks over to Sunshine and whispers to Dan, “Bo just got a call from the clinic. Apparently, the brothers split up and the older one was just in the Clinic demanding they tell him where his sister is and threatening to search every room in the building till he finds her.” Dan just stares dumfounded at her, “They didn’t let him search did they?” he asks. “No, they called their two burliest doctors and threw his belligerent butt out of the clinic” She says chuckling at the image in her head having a pretty good idea which two Doctors were called. “He is on the phone with the Hospital now. He called them as soon as he got off the phone with the Clinic. It sounds like the other brother was there inquiring about someone named Ruth and gave the same description that matches our Sunshine. It sounded like that brother was pretty nice about the whole thing when they refused to give him any info.”

Dan sighs in relief. 

Just then Bo comes in and sees Dan and Sophie talking. He walks over and quietly takes the tea from Sophie. He then walks over to Sunshine and sits down by her. She is so engrossed in the bird book that she doesn’t even notice him. He chuckles and it gets her attention as she startles a bit. She looks up at him and sees he is holding the cup of tea out to her. She tries to smile and groans when it hurts her face. He chuckles again and reaches out to gently brush that unruly ringlet out of her eye that keeps working itself free from where she usually tucks it behind her ear. She closes her eye when she sees his hand moving toward her face, but for the second time she doesn’t flinch when he gently touches her face as he tucks the ringlet back behind her ear.

“More baby steps” he reminds himself when he notices she isn’t flinching when he touches her face now.

She slowly opens her eye and sees him smiling at her. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” he playfully asks her. She shakes her head bashfully and stares into her teacup. “Better drink that tea before it gets too cold.” He tells her with a smile. “Will you be ok for a bit if I take these two into the living room to talk?” he asks her as he points to Dan and Sophie. She looks up at them and then over to Bo and nods, then points to her book that is open in her lap and then to the bell. He smiles and reminds her to ring the bell if she needs anything. She nods and lets them leave.

Dan and Soph follow Bo out into the living room and then into the kitchen area where Sunshine is less likely to hear them talk. Peg is there making herself a cup of tea. Bo looks at her and she comes over and gives him a side hug and rubs his back. He looks at Dan & Sophie and says, “I hope Henry and Joe get back soon. You guys need to get going back into town. The older brother is upset cuz they can’t find the woman matching Sunshine’s description. He kept asking for a woman named Ruth and kept giving the description that matches Sunshine’s looks. Two of my Doctors had to be called to throw him out of the Clinic. 

I called the Hospital and talked to Tiffany, and she said that a young man came in looking for a sister named Ruth and gave the same description that the other brother had given the clinic staff. Tiffany said this young man though, was understanding and polite about it and didn’t get upset when she told him they couldn’t give him any info either way. She said she told him to check with you, Dan or with Joe or Henry. She said the man seemed to accept that and calmly walked out of the Hospital. My guess is he is the brother that helped Sunshine when she was beaten and raped over the years.

Dan rubs his face. It’s going to take us a good 3 and a half to 4 hours to get back into town thanks to the potholes in the gravel road. Bo rubs the back of his neck in frustration. Just then they hear Henry’s coded tapping on the back door. Bo goes over and opens it to see both Joe and Henry covered in mud. “Well the trail is still there, but it’s rough going in some places. When we got up to our cabin, we went and got some good, sturdy rope and tied it in a few places along the path where a good hand hold was needed. It’s navigable now and should be fine for use.”

Bo nods and invites them into the mudroom. He fills them in on what’s happening in town and tells them that Dan, Sophie and Joe need to head back into town soon. Joe nods and says, “Tell Dan I’ll meet him at his truck. We can head back now. “Don’t you want to clean up, Joe?” Boaz asks. “Naah, It’ll be easier to get it off once it dries.” Joe jokes. “Tho, I will scrape some of the mud off of the boots once I get to the boot scraper out front.”  
Peg and Soph hear Joe and thank him for all the help and Peg wishes him safe travels back to town. Soph runs to tell Dan that Joe is ready to head out. She goes in to tell Sunshine that she has to go now and that she will see her in about a week.

Sunshine looks ready to burst into tears. Sophie tells her that Peggy is here and will be staying with her to make sure she is ok. This seems to calm Sunshine down and they hug each other. Sophie waves goodbye to Sunshine and reminds her to give Bo a chance and to trust him. She then heads out to the truck with Joe and Dan. Peg, Henry and Bo stand out on the porch and wave goodbye as the truck heads down the gravel road. They turn and head back into the cabin. 

“Henry, why don’t you head into the bathroom and take a warm shower.” Bo says. “I’ll set out some clothes that should fit you and Peg can get yours cleaned up. I’ll get a fire going in the fireplace again so we can get your clothes dried once they are clean.” Henry nods. “There’s a bathrobe on the back of the door that should fit you. I’ll put the clothes for you on the bed in the guest room. Just leave the muddy clothes outside the bathroom door before you get in the shower. 

Henry smiles and says, “Thanks Bo.” And heads into the bathroom. 

Bo goes into the guest bedroom and rummages through his clothes till he finds some pants and a shirt and flannel that should fit Henry for the time being. He lays them out on the bed and then goes to pick up the dirty clothes that Henry plopped on the floor just outside the door to the bathroom. He hears Henry singing to himself in the shower and chuckles. Bo brings the muddy clothes to the mud room where Peg had started to run water in the washtub so she could wash the clothes. She thanks him and tells him to go sit with Sunshine for a while and let her get used to his company. He nods and heads into the master bedroom after stopping to make sure the fire in the fireplace is still going good.

When he gets to the bedroom door he sees Sunshine trying to read the bird book. She is struggling to hold the teacup and deal with the book, who’s pages keep wanting to flop back over whenever she lets go of the page. She growls at the book when another page flops back when she had just turned it to look at the next picture. Bo smirks and chuckles at the scene. 

She looks up at the noise, glares at him, and raises an eyebrow. He grins and walks into the room. “Having trouble with the book, Honey?” he asks. She nods and holds out the empty teacup. He walks over to her and takes the cup and places it on the side table. 

He looks down at the book and sees she is reading the one about the birds. “Are you enjoying the book?” He inquires. She nods and tries to flip the page back that had annoyed her a moment ago. As soon as she let go of the page it flopped back over. She growled again and pushed the book away. Bo, chuckles. “How about I come sit next to you and hold the book open for you? That way we can both look at it and read it. 

I know next to nothing about birds and would be interested in learning about them if you’re ok with that.” She eyes him warily, and thinks about what he offered. After a couple moments she slowly nods. He can tell she is hesitant to let him do this, so he is careful not to move too fast. Bo grabs a spare, fluffy pillow and comes over to the side of the bed even with her left side. He sits down on the bed slowly and carefully scoots back till he is next to her and leaning on the headboard. 

She stiffens as he moves back towards her and she freezes when his arm brushes her shoulder as he leans forward to pick up the book from her lap. His hands brushing hers gently and sending sparks through her body. He picks up the book and flips the page to the one she was trying to look at. 

He shoves the pillow he had grabbed so it is now between his back and the headboard, then he leans back against it and holds the book so they can both see it’s pages. They spend the next hour looking at the pages. Whenever she was done reading a page and wanted it flipped to the next one, she would touch his leg closest to her hand. If he wasn’t done reading it, he would hold up a finger telling her to give him a moment and then when he finished reading the page, he would turn it to the next. 

After a while, he realized she had leaned against him and was resting her head on his shoulder as she read the pages her arm lightly wrapped around his bicep, her hand resting on his elbow. A little while later he noticed a heavier weight on his shoulder and arm, than what was there before. He realized she hadn’t touched his leg in a while wanting the pages turned. He looks over and realized she had fallen asleep and was hugging his arm. He smiled and continued to read the book, content to let her lean against him and rest. 

And that is how Peg and Henry found the two of them a few hours later. Bo had dozed off as well while reading the book. His shaggy hair hanging down over his face as his head was tilted down and to the side, resting against her head   
“Awwww, they look so adorable.” Peggy whispers to Henry and hugs his arm as they stand in the doorway looking at them. “Yes, but he is going to have a very sore neck when he wakes up.” Henry says grinning. 

“It’s getting close to supper time, Peg. What do you want to do for supper for them?” He asks as he looks down at her hugging his arm and pats her hand with his.   
“There’s still leftovers from the food Joe bought us last night. I can just heat that up again.” She replies and then lets go of his arm. “Why don’t you see if you can wake Bo up and let him know supper will be ready soon. If he needs my help, just let me know.”  
And with that she gives him a kiss on the cheek and walks back towards the kitchen, leaving Henry to go wake Bo up. He walks into the room and picks up the books off of Boaz’s lap and from Sunshine’s lap. When neither of them stir he shakes his head at how deep a sleep the pair is in. He stacks the books on the side table and then gently grabs Bo’s shoulder and gives it a little shake.

“Bo, wake up. Peg is getting supper ready and wants you to see if Sunshine needs help getting ready for supper.”   
Bo groans and lifts his head, blinking sleepily. He turns his head when he feels a weight on his right shoulder and arm. He smiles when he sees that a mop of auburn hair is resting on his shoulder and her arm is wrapped tightly around his bicep, hugging it.  
“Awwww!” he whispers to Henry as he looks up at Henry who is smiling and quietly chuckling. “Getting comfy are we?” Henry teases. Bo’s face gets warm and he gives Henry ‘a look’ and raises an eyebrow. Henry just grins and pats his shoulder.  
“I know, I know. You two just looked so adorable snuggled up on the bed like that, I couldn’t resist giving you a hard time.” Bo rolls his eyes and reaches over to rub his sore neck. Then he looks at the mop of curly hair leaning on his shoulder. He can’t resist those ringlets and reaches over to run his hand through Sunshine’s soft curls. 

“Sweetheart, time to wake up.” He gently says. She makes a noise and squeezes his arm tighter. He calls out to her again softly, trying to wake her up without scaring her. She clings to his arm and whimpers. He looks up at Henry, puzzled. Henry walks around the bed and looks at her face. He looks at Bo, concern showing on his face. “Bo,” he quietly says, “I think she is having another one of her flashbacks. See if you can wake her again.” He says. 

Bo reaches up and gently touches her hair and runs his hand down the side of her face, tracing her jawline. “Sweetheart, wake up. Peggy has got supper almost ready for us.” She flinches at his touch and tries to curl up against his arm, whimpering when her injuries protest. Henry looks over at Bo and nods. Bo turns and tries to pry her off his arm. With a gentle, but slightly louder voice, he says, “Sunshine, can you hear me? Wake up! Come on, Honey, let me see your eyes, can you open them for me?” She tries to cling to his arm, but he is able to pry it loose and grabs hold of her shoulders, being careful with the injured one. 

He gives her a gentle shake on her left shoulder and says, “Ruth, wake up!” Instantly her eye pops open and she startles. Panic filling her face and she tries to curl up in a ball. Henry sits down by her slowly and softly talks to her trying to calm her down. She looks at his face and sees he is genuinely concerned and has no signs of anger or hostility. She whimpers and looks at Bo. 

Henry gazes down at her frightened face. “Honey, were you having another flashback? Another memory of what happened to you?” he gently asks as he caresses her face. She closes her eye when his hand comes near her face. “Honey, look at me please.” Henry gently tells her. She opens her eye slowly and whimpers, looking up at him then quickly down into her lap. “Sweetheart, did you have a bad memory? Is that why you were clinging to Bo’s arm?” Henry gently asks. She nods and a tear rolls down her cheek.

“Oh, Honey,” he says and gently wipes the tear away with his big thumb. He holds her left side of her face for a moment and bring his face down near hers and gives her a kind smile. “We don’t want to see you hurting and upset. Will you tell us what your dream was about? Maybe there is something in your dream or memory that could be a clue for us to help us figure out who you are.

You didn’t wake up till Boaz called you “Ruth”. Does that name have any meaning for you?” he gently says.   
Her eye gets big when she hears him say Ruth. She looks down into her lap and fidgets with her fingers that are in the casted arm. She scrunches up the left side of her face like she is trying to remember something that is just out of reach. Suddenly she remembers that is her name. She remembers the dream she had been having too…


	27. MAKING A DEAL

Chapter 27  
MAKING A DEAL

  
After three and a half hours of driving, Dan, Joe and Sophie make it back into town. They are tired and hungry, and Joe is covered in mud. He suggests they go to Louie’s for supper and they all agree. Dan parks the truck and they all get out. Joe giggles at the mess he made in Dan’s truck. 

Dan looks over and glares at him. “YOU will be cleaning that up first thing tomorrow morning, Joe!” He just giggles again and salutes Dan. Then Joe starts brushing himself off trying to get as much of the caked on dried mud off of his clothes as possible. He scrapes his boots again on the boot scraper near the door to the bar. 

They head inside and Joe walks over to Mame and asks if he can wash the mud off his face and arms somewhere. She points him to the back Janitor’s closet and tells him to rinse out his hair too since it has mud caked into the long locks. She hands him a bar of soap and tells him that that will have to do for shampoo until he goes home to shower. He chuckles and thanks her and heads for the janitor’s closet to clean up. 

In the meantime, Dan and Sophie talk to Amy and she informs them that one of the two men who stopped in for lunch was back. She indicated without drawing attention to them where he was sitting. She said he had not caused any problems and was very polite and kind. She said, “He seems to be worried about someone or something. He’s been asking when the sheriffs were coming back into town. I think he actually wants to talk to you about something, Dan. 

Surprised, Dan glances over towards the man. He had just looked up from the glass he was holding and met Dan’s eyes and gave a slight nod. Dan nods back and tells Amy they want a booth by the window and to show Joe over to them when he is done cleaning up. 

Amy nods and asks, “What do you two want to drink?” Sophie orders a strawberry milkshake and Dan orders a Root Beer float. Amy smiles and shows them over to a booth by the windows where the man could see them, and they could see him. Dan decided to leave the man alone and lets him choose to come to them if he wants to talk. 

He and Amy sit down next to each other and leave the other side open for either Joe or the man at the bar. They make small talk about their plans for the rest of the day. Amy soon brings their drinks and tells them Joe will be out shortly. Mame made him wash his hair twice to get all the mud out. She tells them with a giggle. They smile and thank her. They enjoy their drinks and wait for Joe to join them before they order food. He walks out with damp hair hanging in spirals around his neck and shoulders. His shirt damp where the hair touched it. 

He grins and apologizes for holding them up. “You should’ve just ordered the food, and not waited for me! I know you both are hungry!” They chuckle and reassure him that it’s ok. A few minutes later, Amy walks over with a chocolate shake for Joe and then takes their food orders. When she walks away, the man at the bar slowly gets up and nervously walks towards them.

He has his hat in his hands and he is nervously wringing it while he stares at the floor. He comes up to their booth and stands there looking down at his feet before nervously saying, “I’m awfully sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I might talk to you about something that has been bothering me when you can spare a few minutes?” 

Dan and Joe look at each other and then at Sophie. She nods and they look at the poor, nervous young man. “Sure thing, young man!” Joe says as he smiles and slaps the seat next to him, the young man startles and looks up at him. “…sit down and join us for some grub and we can talk about it over food!” 

Dan chuckles and Sophie giggles at the man’s surprised expression. 

“A-are you s-s-sure?” the young man stutters, clearly shocked that he was being invited to join them.

Dan nods and indicates for him to have a seat. “Amy, come take this young man’s order and put it on our tab.” He says to her. She nods and comes over and takes Jack’s order. “Now, young man, let’s start out with introductions, shall we? I’m Sheriff Dan Patterson, this lovely Dame is my wife, Sophie Patterson, and The Brute you’re sitting next to is Deputy Sheriff Joe Walker. What’s your name, my boy?” 

Jack looks at the three of them and swallows hard, he didn’t expect to come across BOTH the Sheriff AND Deputy at the same time. He looks down at his hat and twists it in his hands nervously wondering if he is making the right choice talking to these men like this. “My…my name is Jack…Jack Gray.” He says.

“Well nice to meet you Jack, Sophie says, smiling. He looks up at her and gives her a nervous smile. “What seems to be troubling you?” Joe asks. 

Jack swallows hard and takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly before saying, “Well, it’s a bit of a long story, and I’m not sure where to begin with the whole mess and if we should be discussing it here.” Dan looks at Joe and raises an eyebrow. “Just start at the beginning, you’ll be fine.” Says Joe and pats the young man’s shoulder. Jack nods. He takes a minute to gather his thoughts and begins. 

“My Ma and Pa were killed a decade ago in a house fire. My older brother and I were left to fend for ourselves. We were old enough to work and my brother got a job on a ranch in South Dakota. I had a couple years left in High School so he told me to finish them off before I get a job. He supported us till I graduated. Then one day he asks me to give him a ride to the bank in town to cash his check from work. I drive him there and he tells me to wait in the car for him, that he’ll be right back. So, I wait. 

All of a sudden, he comes barreling out of the bank with his arms full of money bags. He tosses them into the back seat and tells me to drive. I ask him what’s going on and he pulls a gun on me, points it at my head and just says, “DRIVE!” So I do.   
We drive north till we come to a small town in ND. He gets a hotel room and goes to the bars and picks up broads and brings them back to the hotel. Some of them he lets leave after bedding them, others, he drags with us and he makes me drive us into the country where he ties them up to trees in shelterbelts and whips them and rapes them. At first, I try to stop him from hurting them, but then he pulls a gun on me and ties me to a tree by the car until he is done with the woman. I was forced to listen as he would make her beg and plead to be let go, and I’d have to sit there listening to each whip crack and scream.” He physically shudders and closes his eyes at the memory.

“I couldn’t stop him and couldn’t escape it. Each time, when he finished having his way with them they were so badly beaten that I’m not sure if they were alive when we left them hanging there in the trees. He does this repeatedly over the course of the next two springs, summers, and into the early falls as we work our way across the state. He robs stores and banks and forces me to drive and threatens me with his gun or a knife when I question him or refuse to do what he wants. Sometimes, if he has a dame with him, he threatens to harm her instead, if I don’t comply.” He says, shoulders sagging as he stares at his crumpled hat, tears starting to form in his eyes. 

“I always ended up doing as he asked cuz I didn’t want to get hurt or didn’t want him to hurt the women any more than he already had. If he knew I was here talking to you right now, he would literally kill me.” He says as he nervously glances out the windows. Dan looks at Joe unable to believe this lad is confessing to them what he and his brother have been doing… confirming to them that at least the case of the ND women tied to trees was done by his brother. 

Sophie sees the young man is almost in tears. “Honey, that’s gotta be a pretty hard place for you to be in. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, unable to escape.” He looks up at her with glassy eyes and nods. He looks back down at his hat and continues.

“One day he decided he wanted to drive so we head out and are driving past a field with a huge harvesting machine of some kind. We see it is sitting idle near the edge of a field. My idiot brother sees a woman walking around the front of the machine and she is pregnant and fanning herself in the hot sun with a handful of harvested wheat that she picked up off the ground. He stopped the truck and climbed out. 

I ask him why we’ve stopped, and he says, “To see if she needs any ‘help’.” I cringe seeing the leer he gives her and the look in his eyes. He yells at me to grab the toolbox and follow him. I do so and we walk down into the field. He walks up to the woman, greets her, and asks if there’s anything wrong with the machine. She says that there is and that she sent the farm hands back to the barn to get the tools and parts to fix it. He offers my help to remove the broken part so they can fix it faster when they return. She shows me what broke, and I get to work removing the piece. 

My brother walks around the machine, admiring it and asking her questions. He gets her to the back of the machine, and I can’t hear them talking any longer. When I get the part that was broken removed, I walk around to the back of the machine only to find him raping her. He has his hankie stuffed in her mouth, his one hand holding her throat, the other hand around her waist, and has her bent over one of the sections of equipment. He is buried deep in her and I can see he is livid that I caught them. He pulls out of her, reaches down to his pants, picks up the gun and he points the gun at me and tells me to pack up the tools and get back to the truck. 

He then hikes up his britches, fastens them and drags the crying woman with him and throws her in the back of the truck and locks the door. She is crying and screaming at us to let her go until he points the gun at her and yells at her to shut her yapper. She quiets down and starts to sob quietly. He tells me to start driving and I look at him like he is crazy. He cocks the gun, points it at MY head and yells, “DRIVE!” so I do. 

We spend the next two or three years running from place to place with her. Nearly every day he beats her and rapes her as often as he can. He forces me to tend to her wounds and she clings to me at night to protect her from him. I convince him to let me have her at night since he does what he wants to her during the day. I never rape her, or harm her. I nurse her wounds, clean her bloody body up after each episode she has with him, and basically just curl up with her on the bed and try to comfort her as best as I can till we both fall asleep. 

Whenever he decides to beat or rape her during the day, he sends me away to be the ‘lookout’ for him. I end up going for walks as far as I can get from where they are because I can’t stand listening to her cry at first. Knowing what he is most likely doing to her and being totally unable to stop it infuriates me. Then after a few weeks of the regular beatings and rapes, she stops crying out and all I can hear as I walk away are the sound of the beatings and her whimpers and his grunts and shouts. It makes me sick and I know there is nothing I can do to stop him, and I don’t dare go to the lawmen for fear he will hold her hostage and kill her.

I am still trapped in the situation as much as the woman was. Neither of us asked to be roped into his activities and we each are punished in similar ways, only I don’t get the raping. I just had to clean her up after it and the beatings. Twice he beat her so badly she lost the babies she was carrying. I had to take them and bury them in the shelterbelts so no one would know, and twice now he has gotten her pregnant. Though I don’t know if she still carries the current baby or if she has lost that one too.” He sighs, his shoulders hanging forward. He leans forward onto the table and puts his head in his hands. Dan and Joe exchange glances in unspoken communication. 

Jack continues his account to them, “Recently the woman and I had been quietly talking when my big brother wasn’t around and we had come up with as much of a plan as we could to try to at least help her escape his clutches. We had just entered Montana and I knew that we would be heading into the mountains. We agreed that I would let her have the window seat in the truck when we got closer to the mountains so she could lay her head against the window and enjoy the view. She had never seen mountains before and I wanted to at least give her that chance to enjoy the view without my deranged brother molesting her. We agreed that she would pretend to fall asleep leaning against the window, and when the time was right, and we round a curve, I would lean over to check on her, whisper our coded sentence to her, and pull the door handle to open the door. She would lean against the door and fall out of the truck. Thus making it look like the door hadn’t caught when it was closed and the whole thing would look like an accident.

So when my brother would stop the truck and go check on her, she would pretend to be dead in hopes that he would leave her there. We’d hope and pray that she would either be found by someone or she would be able to get up and get to help. She had promised me that if she was able to get help, that she would tell them our story and beg them to help me escape my brother and beg them to have mercy on me, since I didn’t want that life any more than she did.”

Jack sighs and a tear rolls down his cheek. 

We were able to pull off our plan after waiting for several days. We came to St. Mary’s and entered the mountain pass. It was early afternoon when we came around a curve and the road widened out into a lookout area. I quickly leaned over and whispered, "Ruth, Look at this…” which was our code, and then pulled the handle on the door. She leaned against the door harder and fell out. It took my brother a moment to realize she had fallen out of the truck and stopped to go back and check on her. I begged him to leave her, but he got out into the rain and stalked over to her. He squatted down, and thinking she was dead he cursed and started beating and kicking her. When he had finished venting his anger, he climbed back into the truck and we left since he no longer considered her a viable play thing, nor a threat to his activities. I don’t know what happened to her after that.” Jack looks up at Dan. “I hope and pray she and the baby are ok and that my brother never finds her. But I know he will never give up looking until he does.” Jack sighs and rubs his face.

He continues, “We traveled for hours and finally stopped in Missoula for the night. We overheard some people talking about a new sheriff deputy and how he liked this server at a restaurant.” Jack looks at Joe and says, “I’m guessing the woman was talking about you.” Joe looks uncomfortable and raises an eyebrow at Jack. “Anyway, the next morning we are eating a late breakfast at a restaurant and three sheriffs come in and sit near us. They don’t recognize us. They are talking and we overhear them. One mentions to the other two about you finding a woman on the side of the road when you were taking a drunkard home. He described the woman as being wrapped in a blanket and had a mop of auburn hair. 

We realized then that it was Ruth. You see, I had wrapped her in the blanket after I cut her down from the shelterbelt. My brother had tied her to one of the trees and whipped and raped her and I finally had heard and seen enough of his brutality towards her. It was the last straw. I realized he had intended to do the same thing to her that he had done to the other women. I decided that I wasn’t going to let her die like that if I could help it. I realized that this time he had made a careless mistake and left his gun on the truck’s hood in his hurry to string her up from the tree.

I saw my opportunity and worked to cut through my bonds since he had tied me to a tree near the truck like he usually did. But he didn’t know I had bought a pocket knife and had stashed it in the back of my jeans’ belt loop where I could get at it if he tied me up like he usually did.   
Unfortunately by the time I cut myself free, he had already shredded her back with the whip. She never cried out, to my amazement, and my brother was irate. It was his goal to make her cry out and beg for him to stop. I was FINALLY able to get ahold of his gun and knock him unconscious with the butt of it to the back of his head as he was raping her and not paying attention to me. I pulled him away from her and then went to grab a blanket from the truck. I cut her down and she collapsed into my arms. I wrapped her quickly in the blanket since I noticed my brother was starting to come to. We made a mad dash for the truck, with me carrying her, but he caught us before we could get away in the truck. He grabbed the gun out of my waist band and pointed it at her and told us to get into the truck. His eyes looked strange, like his mind had finally snapped and he had gone crazy. We had no choice but to get in the truck. I climbed in first and helped her in, then pulled the door shut for her. That was when he got in and we drove to St. Mary’s. I already told you what happened after that.

Anyway back to the conversation of the sheriffs. We listened to them talking to see if Ruth was alive or not. The sheriff said that she was alive when you found her, but you didn’t know if she was going to survive. We were both shocked to learn that Ruth was still alive. My brother had said she was dead, and thus implied she wasn’t a threat to us. But upon hearing she was found and was actually alive, he quickly realized that posed a threat to us and our identities and our vehicle. Well that set my brother off on a fit and after we left the restaurant, he decided we had to find her. He wants to silence her so she can’t rat us out.

I don’t want him to find her and I certainly don’t want him to silence her. I just want to know if she is ok and alive. I spent two to three years busting my butt to keep her alive and as safe as I could. I don’t want to see him kill her just because he considers her a loose thread and a threat to his plans.” Jack says as he puts his head in his hands again and rubs his temples.

“Sheriff, I’m tired of being on the run, being threatened, and constantly wondering if this is my last day on earth. I had plans for a real life and family before he ruined everything by tricking me into being his get-away driver. I want my life back and I want to do what is right. I want to make sure Ruth is safe and protected.  
I know I don’t deserve your time, your help or mercy, but all I ask is that if I help you catch my brother and see that he is punished for what he did, will you promise to help me stay out of jail / prison, tell me if Ruth and the baby are at least alive and safe, and maybe help me start life over… a fresh start somewhere? I will do anything you ask if I am able to.” Jack says as he looks directly at Dan with tears running unheeded down his face. 

Dan rubs his chin and looks up as Amy starts walking over with a huge tray of their food. She glances at Jack and quietly hands out their orders of food to them. She hands Jack some napkins, pats his back but doesn’t say a word and quickly leaves, realizing she had interrupted an important conversation. 

Dan looks at Joe and Joe nods as he begins to dig into his food. They are both speechless as to what kind of monster this young man’s brother is. They both feel bad for the young man and want to help him, but aren’t sure he is telling the truth. Could this young man be a witness to both the ND cases that Henry had been contacted about? There has to be a way to figure this out.

“Well, you sure have been through the ringer, there, son. Would you be willing to write all that down with as many details as you can remember and be willing to stay in our jail here until we can confirm whether or not your story is true. If you’re afraid of your brother hurting you or the woman, I can guarantee you will be safe in the jail.” Dan says as he starts to dig into his food too. 

The young man looks up at Dan with wide, terrified eyes. ‘No, I can’t be put in the jail! My brother is going to be calling me tonight at the motel I’m staying at to talk about his plans for finding the woman. If I don’t answer that phone at 9pm, he will come looking for me and will kill me when he finds me!!!” he says with fear in his eyes. 

Dan saw that he was telling the truth. “Tell you what, how about when we are done eating here, we head back to your motel room. We’ll stay there with you while you have your phone call but do not mention meeting us or this conversation, and when you’re done, you tell us what his plans are. You write it all down including what you told us here. You include as much details as you can remember. Then you come with us and stay at the jail till we can confirm your story and you help us catch him and lock him up. If we can verify your story, and you promise to testify against him and help us with catching him, I will do what I can to see that you are not charged.”

The young man looks up at him like he just promised the world to him. Dan had to look away, struck by how much fear and hope were in the young man’s eyes. He senses this young man has spoken the truth to them and has truly been through hell with all that his brother put them through. He looks up at the young man out of the corner of his eye and watched him eat. Dan noticed Joe patting the young man on the shoulder and encouraging him. The young man nodded and said with a huge smile and gleaming eyes, “Yes, I will do whatever you ask. I just want a clean break from him and a fresh start to live my own life instead of his.” 

Jack couldn’t believe his ears. These lawmen were not only willing to listen to him, but promised to help him start over as well!!! After all that his brother had done to him and all those poor people, he was FINALLY going to get his revenge against his brother and justice for all those people his brother had hurt and stolen from!!!

When they left the restaurant, he was as giddy as a schoolboy. He couldn’t wait to help Sheriff Dan and the deputy set his brother up. He couldn’t wait to see him arrested, tried and convicted on all accounts.


	28. MEMORIES AND REALITY

Chapter 28   
MEMORIES AND REALITY

  
Sunshine is still shaken and struggling to fully wake up. She is hurting again from being in the same position for so long. Boaz is sitting there holding her hand and rubbing his thumb back and forth across the top of her left hand. Henry is sitting on the other side of her holding her fingers of the casted arm. They are both looking at her with eyes full of concern. 

“Ruth? Boaz asks. “If I give you your journal and a pencil, will you write down what you remember from your flashback?” She looks up at him unsure if she wants to remember it. He brings his hand up slowly to her head and runs his fingers through her hair at the side of her face. “Can you try to remember and tell us? Help us understand what happened to you so we can figure out how best to help you recover?” She leans into his hand and closes her eye.

He looks at Henry and Henry grins. Bo can almost hear her purring as she leans into his hand threaded through her soft, curly hair. She stays like that for a few minutes, the soft blanket in her fist and her head in his hand…as if she is drawing comfort from them both and maybe drawing on some inner reservoir of strength to do what he is asking of her. Then she let out a small sigh and nods.   


Henry gets up slowly and rounds the bed to get to the journal and pencil that Boaz is pointing to. He hands them to Boaz and comes back to the other side of the bed. Bo takes his hand reluctantly from Sunshine’s hair and opens the journal to a fresh page and hands her the pencil. She looks at it for a moment, then up at his face. He gives her a smile and a slight nod. “You can do this, honey, we’re here, no one will hurt you and no one will get mad at you. Take your time. There’s no hurry. Ok?” she frowns, then tries to snuggle up to him again. 

He chuckles. “If I let you snuggle against me, Sweetheart, you won’t be able to write in the book.” She looks at him and frowns again and shakes her head. She reaches out and puts the book in his right hand, then tugs him closer to her. He scoots over, she threads her left arm between his right arm and his torso, then indicates she wants the pencil. He hands it to her and helps her get it positioned so she can write.

He holds the book up and looks at her, unconvinced this will work. She leans on his shoulder for a moment and closes her eye, trying to remember her flashback. To his surprise, she opens her eye and reaches over and turns the book horizontally and starts to draw. 

She draws a grove of trees, a woman naked and tied up from a branch in one tree, a man slumped off to the side with his lower half naked and his pants around his ankles, and another man with a blanket over one shoulder, reaching up to cut the woman down. She draws bruises on the woman where her own bruises were. Henry sees she is drawing and gets up and walks to where Boaz was pointing with his other hand. Henry looks through the pile on the desk and finds the box of colored pencils. He brings them back over to Sunshine and shows them to her. She smiles and nods and he dumps them out on her lap. 

She takes the colored pencils and colors in the picture. She then draws a similar picture on a fresh page, only the woman is being held by the man who cut her down and he has wrapped her in the blanket and is trying to carry her to the truck that was visible on the edge of the picture. She colors it in too.

She draws another picture in the same setting but the man who was slumped is now standing and pointing a gun at her head while the other man who is holding her looks scared. The man with the gun is pointing to the truck. It too gets colored.

She draws a photo of the three of them in the truck looking out the front window, the man with the gun is driving, the man who cut her down and carried her, is in the middle, and she is leaning against the door’s window. She colors it as well.

Finally, she sets down the pencils and flexes her fingers. Bo can see she is an excellent artist. The woman really looks like her, especially the close up drawing she did of the three of them. The two men resemble the descriptions of the men that they were given from the ND lawmen. Henry asks if he can take a look at the pictures. She nods. 

He looks at each one, then asks, “Honey, is this something that happened to you? Are you the woman in these pictures?” She won’t look at him. She just nods, feeling very ashamed.   
“Sweetheart, did this happen when you were in ND?” Boaz gently asks her in his rich, velvety voice. She shakes her head ‘no’.   
“Sweetheart, did this happen the day that you were left on the side of the road?!?” Boaz asks surprised. She squeezes his arm and buries her head into his shoulder, her curls hiding her face from them. He can feel his shoulder getting wet, can feel her body trembling, and knows she is ashamed and crying. He pets her head and murmurs, to her that it’s ok. It’s good she is getting this out in the open so they can help her.

“Honey, I know this is hard for you. Is this what lead to you being left on the side of the road?” Henry asks her. She just nods. “So those wounds from the whipping were only a few hours old when we found you then!?!” Bo asks, trying to keep the surprise and anger out of his voice. She squeezes his arm and just nods.  
“Oh, honey, we are SO sorry you had to go through this! You understand you are incredibly lucky to have survived what these men did to you? You’re not the only one that it happened to. There were several women before you that he did this to, if it is the same person we think it is. But YOU are the ONLY woman who has survived and can identify them, which helps us greatly, but also puts you in great danger. That is why we had to bring you here.” Henry quietly explains as Bo sits there gritting his teeth in anger realizing that their suspicions were, indeed, correct. 

“There are at least a dozen sheriffs in ND who have been trying to solve these cases for almost a decade, Honey. They had next to nothing to go on and no descriptions of the person or persons who committed the crimes. But what these men did to you, was exactly the same as what was done to the many women in ND. The only difference is that you survived and can identify the attacker. If you can help us catch them, you will help bring justice not only for yourself, but all the other women who died at these men’s hands.” Henry says and caresses her fingers in the cast. 

“But we are glad you drew these pictures for us. It is giving us more puzzle pieces to work with so we can try to get the whole picture of what happened to not only you now, but the other women as well. Do you think you could draw one of what happened before you were cut down by the man? So we can see which one tied you up and which one whipped and raped you?” 

She clings to Bo’s arm for a while, crying and he just does his best to comfort her and murmur encouragement to her. Henry sits there holding her casted hand and caresses her fingers gently since it’s the only part of her on that side that he can touch and not cause her pain. Peg comes in and sees them and gives Bo and Henry a puzzled look. Henry gets up and picks up the book. He takes it over to Peg and shows her the pictures Sunshine drew and explains that she had another flashback, and that she drew these to try to show them what it was about. Peg looks sad and nods to him. She quietly says that supper is ready. She walks over to Boaz and squats down next to the bed. She touches Sunshine’s hand and says, “We are truly sorry for what you have had to endure, my dear, and will be grateful for any help you can give the lawmen so they can catch these nasty men so they can’t hurt anyone else. But I think this is enough for now. Don’t you?” 

Sunshine peeks out from behind her curtain of auburn curls and nods, still resting her head on Bo’s shoulder. She sniffles and then grimaces and lets out a small groan. Peg reaches up across Bo’s chest and pushes back some of the auburn curls from Sunshine’s face. “How about I get you a cool washcloth, honey. And we get you cleaned up. Would you like some soup and crusty bread for supper?” Sophie nods slightly then her stomach growls loudly. Her cheeks turn pink and she hides her face in Boaz’s arm again. 

They all laugh and he pats her hand. “Food sounds and smells pretty good right now. Are you feeling up to joining us at the table, Sweetheart? Want to get out of bed for a little bit?” She looks up into his face, surprised and hopeful. She nods. He untangles himself from her grasp and slides to the edge of the bed after Peg stands and steps aside. He stands and walks over to the wheelchair and rolls it over to the bed. He takes a pillow and sets it on the seat after he picks up the robe and slippers and sets them at the edge of the bed.  
He walks back over to the bed and kneels down on it, facing Sunshine. Remember how we got you sitting up from laying down?” he asks her as he looks at her face. She looks up and nods. “We’re going to do the same thing here, except I’m going to be the one carrying you. Here’s what I was thinking, we slide you over closer to the edge of the bed here…” he indicates patting the bed, “… Then we swing your legs over the side of the bed and you wrap your good arm around my neck like you did before. I will slide my hands under your legs near your butt, so we don’t aggravate the broken thigh bone, and I lift you up so each leg of yours is on either side of mine and you are facing me. Then I turn and put you into the wheelchair. Do you think that you can handle that? I don’t want to upset you or make you uncomfortable or hurt you.” 

Sunshine thinks for a moment. She looks at Henry and then at Peg. Both of them are smiling and nod. She looks at Bo, unsure. “Do you trust me?” he quietly asks her, just loud enough for her to hear when he leans towards her to tuck the unruly curl behind her ear. She looks into his face, searching his eyes, trying to read him and figure out if this is a good idea or not. She only sees hope and something else, but she isn’t sure how to describe what she sees. Finally she nods when her stomach protests again. He smiles and leans over and gives her a kiss on the forehead. “I will do my best to try and not cause extra pain for you, sweetheart.” She closes her eye when she sees him leaning towards her, she is surprised when she feels him kiss her forehead gently. She opens an eye and gives him a little smile and nods.

He helps her sit up and Peg helps him slide her closer to the edge of the bed. They carefully maneuver her, so her legs are hanging off the side of the bed. Bo squats down between her legs and helps her put the house coat on. Then he has her wrap her good arm around his neck and he slides his hands under her thighs, close to her butt as he dares without touching the bandaged wounds. She tenses her legs for a moment and unconsciously grabs a fist full of his hair again at the back of his neck. He grimaces but doesn’t say anything. 

He whispers into her ear with a soft velvety voice, “Breathe, Sweetheart, Breathe. You can do this.” As he lifts her up off the bed. He carefully turns and Peg is right there with the wheelchair and she is holding a pillow against the back of the chair. Bo carefully steps between the footrests and gently sets Sunshine down in the chair. She whimpers as her butt and back touch the pillows, and he just holds her there for a moment, letting her get comfortable. When she isn’t holing his hair in a tight fist full anymore, he gently slides his hands out from under her thighs, reaches up to her hand still in his hair and gently guides it down to the arm rest. He then carefully pulls the bathrobe over her body in the front and gently ties the belt. Then he grabs the super soft blanket from the bed and wraps it around her legs and tucks it in, so it doesn’t get caught in the wheels. She lowers her hand onto her lap and plays with the edge of the blanket and then with the soft robe he placed on her while she watches him intently.

Next he takes the slippers from off the bed and squats back down and lifts the end of the blanket up over her knees so he can place the slippers gently on her feet. She trembles at his touch, but lets him put the slippers on her feet. “Ohhhh these are SO soft!!!” She thinks to herself and wiggles the toes on the leg that isn’t in a cast. Once they are on, he pulls the blanket back down and places her feet on the footrests of the wheelchair. 

“There, are you comfortable, my dear?” Peg says when she sees he is finished doting. Sunshine looks up and nods at her. Boaz grins and hands her the closed journal with the pencil stuck into the holder on the side, as well as the box of pencils that Henry had placed back into the box while Boaz had been doting on her. “Keep these with you and draw or write things down whenever you remember something. Ok?” She tucks them between her thigh and the side of the wheelchair, then looks up at him and nods. 

He walks around behind the wheelchair and tells Peg to lead the way to supper. He follows Peg and Henry out, pushing Sunshine in the wheelchair. They go to the dining area and Henry pulls a chair away from one side of the table and sets it against the wall in the corner. He motions for Bo to park the wheelchair in the empty space for her. Bo does so and then sits down across the table from her. Henry sits at the head of the table and Peg’s spot is closest to the kitchen. She comes out with plates of food for them all, and a bowl of soup for Ruth. Henry says a quick prayer for the food and thanking the Lord for putting both Boaz and Sunshine on the path to healing and restoration. Both Bo and Sunshine peek at each other when Henry says this. Bo winks at her and smirks then closes his eyes again till Henry finishes the prayer. Sunshine smiles and closes her eye too. 

They start eating and Sunshine quickly realizes that she is not good feeding herself with her left hand. She is struggling to get the soup into her mouth without spilling it all over without leaning forward, which makes her wounds tighten and hurt. Bo looks up, seeing her struggle and grimace and asks, “Having a bit of trouble, Sweetheart?” She looks over at him and gives him a defeated look as she sets the spoon back in the bowl and sighs, grimacing. 

He stands up and says, “Hang on a minute, let’s try something else.” He reaches across the table and picks up her soup bowl. He walks with it into the kitchen and comes back a couple minutes later with the soup poured into a coffee mug in one hand and the rest of the soup poured into a teapot. Sunshine giggles at how silly it looks. He just grins and hands her the cup. “Think you can manage that better than the spoon?” he asks, wiggling an eyebrow in a teasing manner. She nods and picks it up and takes a drink of the broth. He sets the teapot with the rest of the broth in it, nearby so her cup can be refilled easily if she wants. 

Peg helps her tear the bread into bite size chunks and Sunshine dips them into the broth in the mug till she can’t reach down far enough to get broth anymore. She looks at Bo and then at the teapot and pushes the mug towards him. He looks up at her and asks, “Want another cupful?” She nods. He reaches over and pours her another cup of broth.   
She motions ‘thank you’ to him and he smiles, “My pleasure, Sweetheart.” As he hands her the mug back and she goes back to dipping her bread in the broth. They eat till they are full. Peg and Henry exchanging glances and unspoken communication as they watch Bo and Sunshine’s interactions.

Sunshine yawns and grimaces at the deep breath her body forces her to take. She grabs the book and flips to the page where there was just writing on it. She fishes out the pencil and writes Can I sleep on my tummy tonight? Then pushes the journal to Bo. He picks it up and looks at what she wrote. “If you think you’ll be comfortable sleeping that way, we can give it a try. Do you want to go to bed now?” he asks, handing the book back to her. She nods.   
Peg gets up and tells Bo, I’ll help you get her ready for bed, Bo. You should be in there though to see what she wants to do for her bedtime routine. He nods and looks over at her. “Shall we?” she nods. He comes around and backs her wheelchair out from the table and pushes it into the bedroom after she allows Henry to give her a small hug goodnight. 

They get into the bedroom and Peg asks her what she wants to do first. Sunshine indicates that she wants to have her face washed. So Bo helps her with that. Then she points to the widetooth hair comb that Bo bought for her. He picks it up and asks her if she wants him to comb her hair or Peg. She shrugs indifferently. Peg chuckles and tells Bo to go ahead and do that while she gets the bed ready for Sunshine. They hear the phone ring. And Bo turns to go answer it. “I’ll get it!” Henry shouts. 

Bo chuckles then turns back to Sunshine. He can’t believe she is going to let him comb her hair. He has been itching to do this since he first saw her in the hospital bed after they got her cleaned up. He is careful not to yank and has Peg show him what to do when he hits knots and tangles, so he doesn’t cause Sunshine more pain. By the end of his ministrations, Sunshine has fallen asleep sitting up. Peg giggles and Bo gives her a confused look. She motions to Sunshine and quietly says, “Look.” 

He stands up and walks around to face Sunshine. She is out like a light and he just looks at her and says, “Awww… hope I don’t wake her up when we lift her back into bed.” “You’re probably going to have to, Bo. You’re going to need her to hang onto your neck to pick her up. We should really change out the bandages tonight too. He thinks for a moment. Then walks over to the cabinet and gets the bandages to change on her wrists. He carefully unraps the soiled ones on her wrists and Peg hands him a clean, soapy washcloth. He cleans the wounds carefully, and hands the washcloth back to her to rinse out. They hear the phone ring again, and Henry shouts that he’ll get it. Then Peg chuckles and hands the rinsed out washcloth back to him to rinse the wounds clean. He looks at them and they are healing nicely. The scabs are starting to peel away from the healing skin around the edges. He takes some ointment and gently puts it on the scabs, so they stay soft and don’t catch on the bandages. Then he wraps them in clean linen bandages. He and Peg are surprised that Sunshine doesn’t even flinch at any of that. “She must be in a deep sleep again.” Bo says. 

“Let me try to pick her up without waking her up. If I need you to steady her back, just be ready to step in.” He says as he gently pulls off the soft blanket and hands Peg the book and pencil box. He lifts Sunshine’s feet off of the footrests and flips the rests up, so he doesn’t trip over them. Then he steps in between her feet and squats down. He gently pulls her upper body so it rests against him, with the left side of her face resting against his shoulder. He slides his hands under her thighs near where they bandaged them to tie down the giant bandage sheet. She moans a little when he shifts her against him, but she doesn’t wake up. He starts to lift her and she automatically brings her arm up and grabs a handful of his hair in back. 

He rolls his eyes and Peg giggles. “I think she likes how your hair feels, Bo. It is rather soft.” She teases. He smirks and carefully stands up. Peg steadies Sunshine in his arms and he carefully turns to set her on the bed. “Shit!” he whispers, “I forgot to untie the robe and take her slippers off!” “I can try to get it, Bo, if you can hang on to her for a little longer.” Peg says. He nods. She slips off Sunshine’s slippers and Bo leans back a bit to make enough room for her to slide an arm in between his chest and Sunshine’s to untie the belt of the bathrobe. “Got it!” Peg says as the belt slides loose and the robe opens up. She helps slide it off of Sunshine and nods for Bo to go ahead and set Sunshine down. 

He pauses for a moment. “What is it, Bo?” She asks him. “I’m just trying to figure out the best way to place her so it will be easiest to roll her onto her stomach like she asked.” He closes his eyes for a moment trying to picture what he wants to do as he stands there holding the woman in his arms. Sunshine stirs slightly and loosens her grip on his hair, and starts to play with it, which starts to distract him. Peg sees the look on his face and knows where he will end up if she doesn’t do something quickly. She clears her throat and he opens his eyes to look at her. She raises an eyebrow and gives him a look. He gives her a sheepish grin and then moves over to the bed and squats down to set Sunshine on the edge of the bed. She lets out a whimper when her butt touches the mattress and her hand tightens on his hair again.

“Ok, Sweetheart, let’s get you into bed now, ok?” he says, not sure if she is comprehending what he is doing or saying. She just mumbles, “Mmmmhmmm.” He takes her arm and taps it trying to get through to her to let go of his hair. She lets go once he pries open one of her fingers. He then lowers her hand from behind his neck. She lets her fingers run through his long locks as he moves her arm down. It takes all his willpower not to respond to that with an audible groan. He nods to Peg and they carefully lay her down on her left side and slide her a little further onto her side of the bed and then turn her to her belly like she asked. She whimpers a few times but otherwise stays pretty much asleep. Peg covers her up with the bedding and her soft blanket while Bo moves the wheelchair, robe and slippers back where they started out at.

He yawns and stretches and his back pops a few times. Peg looks at him and says, “I think you need to go to bed too!” He nods. “Yeah. Are you going to head home or are you staying with her tonight?” he asks.   
She says that she will go talk to Henry and see what he wants to do. She leaves for a moment to go talk with him. Bo sits down on the bed and plays with Sunshine’s curls for a few minutes. Then he looks at the bruised part of her face. The bruises are starting to turn yellowish green around the outer edges. The swelling is down a lot. He thinks she may be able to open her eye by sometime tomorrow. He yawns again and wishes he could just crawl in with her, but knows it wouldn’t be very appropriate. He shouldn’t have fallen asleep with her when they were reading the bird book either. But oh well. 

Peg comes back in and says that Henry already fell asleep in the guest bedroom, so she guesses they are spending the night there. Bo nods and tells her he will be sleeping out on the sofa. He reminds her to come get him if Sunshine has any more flashbacks or bad dreams. She nods. And tells him ‘good night’ and then boots him from the bedroom.

She closes the door until she has changed into her night gown and then opens the door again so he can see and hear if they need him for anything.   
He heads over to the mud room and turns on the furnace. He waits and hears it kick in, then walks over to the thermostat and sets it for 72 degrees farenheight. Once it’s set, he walks over to the sofa and lays down. He sighs and then stands up remembering he needs to wind the mantle clock. After it is wound and set back on the mantle, he lays back down, throws the blanket over himself and falls into a deep sleep….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading up to this point!!! I hope you're enjoying the story! I have more chapters in the works and need to get my butt in gear and get them uploaded! Don't forget to subscribe to find out when new chapters are posted. Kudos and comments are always welcomed!


	29. SETTING THE TRAP (part 1)

Chapter 29   
SETTING THE TRAP (part 1)

  
After finishing their food, Dan flags Amy down for the bill. She hands him the tab and they go to the tills and he pays for everyone’s meals. Joe and Sophie look at the poor young man who is sitting there nervously twisting his hat in his lap. “Are you scared?” Joe quietly asks him.

Jack looks up briefly and nods and looks back down into his lap. “Are you scared of me and Dan or are you scared of your brother finding out you snitched on him?” Joe asks with a raised eyebrow.

Sophie reaches across the table and smacks his shoulder. “Joe!!!” He smirks at her. Jack doesn’t even look up. “both.” He says.

The statement catches Joe by surprise. “That took a hell of a lot of guts to do what you did, young man. Not many people would make it through what you did and then risk it all to help the woman escape; and now coming to us to ask for help getting yourself free from his control.” Joe tells him. 

Jack looks up, wide eyed, at Joe. “Really?” he says surprised.

“MmmnnHmm” Sophie murmurs, “I’m sure the woman you helped really appreciated all you did for her.” She encourages.   
“I just wish I could know if she really survived and is ok or if she didn’t make it and this all was a big waste of my time and effort.” Jack says, dejectedly. Joe reaches over and rubs his back, “I’m sure you’ll find out as soon as Dan can verify your story.” Joe hints.

“How will he verify it? The only people who witnessed it were my brother and Ruth?” Jack says and places his head in his hands.   
“If Ruth didn’t survive, there’s no way to verify it and my brother certainly won’t willingly admit any of it to anyone. Something has snapped in his brain and he no longer thinks nor reasons clearly any longer. He has become unpredictable and is making more mistakes than he did before. I had to come to you now, cuz it’s just a matter of time before he screws up bad enough that we get caught.” Jack informs them. 

Just then, Dan comes walking back over and says, “Ok, gang, let’s head over to the motel room. Soph, why don’t you head home and give our friend a call and see how he is holding up with the stuff we brought him? See if there’s anything else he is going to need for our next trip out. Check on the Carltons too, and see if their pet is still needing to be rehomed when they move. Our friend may want to see it and adopt it.”   
She looks at him for a second, not understanding his cryptic statement. Then she looks at Joe, who tilts his head slightly to Jack and raises an eyebrow at her. Then the light bulb in her brain goes on and she understands why Dan said what he did. He wants her to inform Bo and Henry about Jack and check to see if the Carltons will let them bring the dog up to see Boaz & Sunshine on their next trip up to the cabin!

She nods, “Ok, honey. Will do.” She slides out of the booth and straightens her outfit.   
“It was nice meeting you, Jack.” She says as she holds out her hand to him. “I wish you good luck and best wishes in catching your brother and starting over. I hope you stick around and give us a chance here to help you find work and a place to stay.” He looks at her for a minute, surprised, and then stands, and reaches out a trembling hand to hers and gently shakes it. 

“Thank You Mrs. Patterson. You’ve been very nice to me.” Sophie laughs, “Call me Sophie, please. Mrs. Patterson was my Momma.” 

Dan chuckles and Jack blushes and nods and looks down at his hat.

Sophie moves over to Dan and gives him a peck on the cheek and whispers, “Let me know what comes of the phone call and the young man, will ya?” Dan nods. “I’ll come tell you about it when we get done, and get him situated. Don’t wait up for me though.” She nods and says goodbye to Joe and Jack and heads home.

“Come on young man,” Dan says to Jack, “lead the way to the motel room.” Jack looks up at him and then nods. He starts walking, obviously excited, but also nervous and constantly looking around like he is expecting to be ambushed by his brother any minute. Dan and Joe follow behind him looking around carefully as well. They walk the several blocks to the motel. 

As they walk, Dan leans over to Joe and whispers, “Be on your guard, we don’t know if we are walking into a trap or not. This could be a ruse to get us out of the way so they can find her. We have no clue if this young man is telling us the truth about his brother being in another town or not. For all we know, he could be waiting for us in the motel room!” Joe nods and puts his hand on one of his guns. Dan does the same.

They make it to the motel without incident. Jack leads them to door 19, and unlocks it. He walks in and plops down on the bed looking utterly lost and dejected. Dan and Joe carefully enter and search the room and bathroom.  
“I know what you’re looking for and he isn’t here.” Jack says. “I wouldn’t have come back with you two in tow if he was here. I would have been shot dead by him as soon as he saw me with you two.” He quietly mumbles without even looking up at them.

Dan nods and sits down at the desk. “Joe, can you run over to the motel’s office and ask them for a couple large notepads and pen/pencil?” Joe nods and walks to the door. “Sure thing, Dan. Be right back.” He replies as he walks out the door.   
Jack sighs and runs his hands through his hair.

“You ok?” Dan asks. 

“No, sir, I’m not. What do I tell my brother when he calls and asks if I have discovered anything? I can’t just say I haven’t learned anything after wandering around all day! And obviously can’t tell him I talked to you two. He is going to expect SOMETHING, some piece of information and I got nuthin!” 

Dan rubs his chin, trying to decide how much, if any, information he should divulge. “Well, we have a couple hours before he calls, right? You said he told you he was going to call at 9pm?” Dan asks Jack and Jack looks at him nervously and nods.   
“When Joe gets back with the notepads and pen or pencil, I want you to write down everything you told us back in the diner. Include as many details as you can, the more the better. It will make it easier for me to confirm the truth of your story if it matches up with what my informant has to say. 

Jack’s eyes get huge when he realizes who the informant probably is. “Then you really DID find her?!? And she IS still alive?!?” he asks Dan. Dan looks at him and nods. “Jack, yes, she did survive, but she lost the baby the following morning. It was a little boy. Joe named him Jack Anthony after two of his friends. The poor little guy was still born with a broken skull, arm and ribs. The doctor said it was from the final beating the mother had received. One of the boot prints on her belly lined up with the baby’s injuries when they saw the baby’s positioning in her on the x-rays. The doc said that had he lived, he would most likely been in a lot of physical pain and most likely would have had some form of brain damage and would not have had a happy life.” 

Jack hangs his head and rubs his face trying to hide the tears and sadness. “It’s all my fault. If we hadn’t decided to put our plan into action, they both may have still been alive.” He mumbles. 

Dan gets up and sits next to Jack. “If you hadn’t enacted your plan with her, they both most likely would’ve died within the day due to how much blood she had lost from being whipped, Jack. You saved her life by doing what you did and unknowingly, in turn saved the life of the doctor who is now treating her in a secured location. Unfortunately, it was a lose – lose situation for your poor little nephew. He was caught in the crossfire, so to speak. Either way he would not have survived much longer. At least now, he isn’t in any more pain, and the mother is alive and safe. If it’s any consolation, Joe paid for a little casket for the baby and he was given a proper burial on some private land that was donated.” Dan tells him and puts a hand on his shoulder trying to comfort the grieving man.

“Thank you for showing such kindness to my nephew. I wish I could’ve met him. I wish I could see Ruth, and tell her I’m sorry for everything. I miss her a lot.” Jack says. “I know you don’t trust me and probably won’t tell me where she is. But if you see her, will you tell her I said I’m sorry about baby Jack? I never thought I would get a nephew who would share my name. I know you all had no way of knowing that my name was Jack, but it still a comforting coincidence that he was given the same name as me after how hard I tried to protect them both.”

Dan nods. “If I see her, I will tell her. Were you two close after being trapped together with her because of your brother’s actions?” Dan asked, wondering now if it was such a good idea to let her stay with Bo.

“I cared for her, but not romantically like you’re probably thinking. I guess I just thought of her like you would if you had a little sister. I always wanted a sister, but my parents never had any children after me. She was as close to a sister as I would ever get. It killed me inside what my brother was doing to her, and it hurt me knowing I couldn’t do anything to stop it till now. I didn’t want to push her away like this, but it was the ONLY way we could figure out to get her away from him. 

My brother needed to think she was dead, or he would never let her go. She was his plaything, his sex toy, and his punching bag. No dame should EVER have to be treated like that!” he says, slamming his hand down on the nightstand then shaking it from the pain of the impact. “She is a good woman, incredibly kind and patient, and deserved a better life than this! She deserves someone who will look past all these scars and wounds she will have in her heart and mind and on her body; and will love her unconditionally and help her to see herself as a whole person instead of being broken trash like she had told me she feels like now. She deserves a man who will be kind and compassionate and patient with her, who is ok with just holding her and letting her cry in his arms or on his shoulder. She deserves a man who will make love to her and not treat her as a plaything without feelings or emotions.

She told me the first time I had to clean her up from a beating that she missed her husband’s hugs. She said she always felt safe in his arms because he was so much taller and bigger than she was. She told me he had died in a farm accident earlier that summer before she could tell him she was pregnant with their first child. She was still carrying that child when we came across her in that field.”

Dan sat there stunned. “Why was she in the field if she was a pregnant widow? Why wasn’t anyone there to help her with the harvest?” Dan asked.

Jack shrugged. “I don’t know, Sir, all she said was that the hired help had gone back to the barn on the farmstead to get the needed tools and supplies to fix the harvester.”

“Jack, what happened to the baby she was carrying, her first born?” Dan quietly asks him. 

“I told you I found my brother raping her as he bent her over the machine, but when we got to the motel that night, he dragged her from the back of the truck and she started crying again, totally terrified of him. He apparently started beating on her and yelling at her to be quiet, and brutally raped her. I could hear him shouting at her and her crying when I walked away from the motel after he sent me to go be ‘on lookout duty’. When I got back, a few hours later, he was nowhere to be seen. I discovered her lying in the bathtub, her face streaked with blood and tears, she was bleeding all over and only semi-conscious. There was blood all over the one bed and luckily, I had gone to the pharmacy and bought a bunch of gauze and bandages and painkillers. 

Sheriff, She lost the baby that night while I held her head and tried to comfort her. It was a little boy too. I felt so helpless and she was in so much pain! After that she was never the same. She became like an empty, unresponsive shell whenever my brother was around her. It infuriated him that he could no longer get a response out of her. Which just caused him to beat and rape her even more. When it was just her and me, she would just want to be held and would usually just cry quietly. Sometimes she would talk about her short life with her husband or growing up, or what her dreams had been for the future, but that wasn’t very often.”

Dan nodded and rubbed the young man’s back. Dan could see tears running down the young man’s face unchecked. They both looked up as Joe walked in whistling. Jack quickly wipes his face on his sleeve.

Joe apologized for it taking a bit to get the notepad and pencil. “Had to wait for the old broad to finish checking a couple of guests out.” He explained. Dan nods and takes the notepads, looks at Jack, hands him the notepads and pencil, and tells him to go sit at the desk and write down everything he could remember starting from the beginning and including as much information, details and descriptions as he could. That if he needed more paper, to let him or Joe know. Jack nods, takes the paper and then goes to do what Dan had asked. 

Joe and Dan sit down on the bed over by the opposite corner of the room. “That poor guy has really been through the wringer, Joe.” Dan says as he rubs his face. “So has our Sunshine. He told me that she had mentioned to him that her husband had died a few months before they had found her in the field. She never got to tell her husband that she was expecting their first child. Then Jack and his brother find her and the brother kidnaps her after raping her, and then beats her so badly that night that she loses the baby, a boy, as Jack cradled her head in his lap.” You should’ve seen his face and body language, Joe, This has just devastated him.” 

Joe shakes his head, “I can’t imagine going through what he says he has gone through and still be sane. He seems to have a kind heart though. Was he her lover then while she was with them?” Joe asks. Dan shakes his head. “No, he said their relationship was more like what he imagined a brother-sister relationship would have been like.” “Ah.” Joe replies. “Wow. Smart kid.” Dan just nods.

“We need to come up with some kind of plan to lure this deranged older brother back here so we can catch him before he finds Sunshine.” Dan says still rubbing his chin and watching the young man write furiously. “But how are we going to do it without involving Sunshine and directly putting her in danger? Go back to the jail and call the other sheriffs in the area and ask them to meet us at the jail tomorrow. Lets put our heads together with this young man and come up with a plan.

Call the Sheriffs in ND too, and tell them we have information on the two ND cases and have found the missing woman from the ND farm. Tell them the two cases as well as ours are all connected. Tell them the ND woman from the farm is alive and we have one of the two brothers. The one who helped her escape, and that he is willing to help us capture the older brother in exchange for his freedom from prosecution. He never wanted the lifestyle he was thrust into, and was as much a captive/ victim of the older brother as the women were.” Joe gets up to leave. Dan grabs his arm and tugs him back down.  
He whispers to Joe, “Call Boaz and Henry and tell them what’s been going on today. Tell them we have the younger brother in custody and that he willingly came up to us offering his help in exchange for his freedom from prosecution. Tell them he misses Sunshine and wants to know if she will see him.” Joe looks at Dan surprised. “Do you think that is a good idea, Dan? Given the circumstances?” Dan looks at him, “I didn’t say he wanted to see her right now, Joe. He wants to see her when she is ready to see him. He wants to talk to her and apologize for everything. I think he just wants closure to everything so both he and Sunshine can move on when this is done.” Joe nods. “Ok Dan.” Dan lets go of Joe’s arm and nods towards the door. “Come back when you are done making the phone calls. Joe nods and leaves. 

Jack looks up from scribbling out his account and then goes back to writing. An hour later he stands and stretches. He picks up the notepads and walks over to Dan who was reading a magazine he had found in the night stand. “Here, Sir. I’ve written down everything I could remember. Every... Last... detail.” He holds out the completely filled notepads to Dan. Dan flips through it noticing that both sides of all the pages are completely filled with small, neat handwriting. He looks up impressed and nods.   
“Good. Now how about you go take a shower and relax for a bit while I read through this and when we’re both done, hopefully Joe will be back from the errand I sent him on and we can figure out a plan for this phone call of yours.” He suggests to Jack.

Jack thinks for a minute and then nods. “Ok, Sir, whatever you want, I’ll do.” If you have any questions or need something clarified that I wrote down, just make a note of it and I will do so when I get done with the shower. Dan nods. Jack walks over to his suitcase and picks it up. He walks over to the bed and plops down with it so Dan can see him open it. He pops the latches that hold it closed and open it and pull out a change of clothes. Dan notices there isn’t much in the suitcase and looks up at the young man who is now standing there. “Is that all you have for worldly possessions young man?” he asks surprised at how little was in the suitcase. 

“Yeah, Sir. We lost most of our belongings in the house fire that killed our parents. I was able to get two changes of clothes from a friend of mine who was a neighbor. His Pa had come to try and help put out the fire, but it was too late. He let us stay with them for a few days and gave us each two changes of clothes and a suitcase to put them in.” Jack says sadly as he remembers that fateful day. “I wash them in the sinks of the motels we stay in and usually hung them to dry in the bathroom of the motels or in the back of the truck if we were on the run.”

“Speaking of that truck, where is it? I didn’t see it when we walked up to the motel.” Dan asks.

“Read what is in your hands and it will explain everything.” Jack simply replies and walks to the bathroom.

Dan watches him and hears the door close and a few minutes later hears the shower start to run. He looks down at the notepad, puts his reading glasses back on and starts reading what Jack gave him. He is blown away by the amount of detail the young man could remember and write down. It’s all there, all the evidence the lawmen in ND would ever need to convict the older brother. All the evidence HE will need to convict the older brother for what he did to Ruth.

Detailed descriptions of each woman for the last 10 years, and all the stolen vehicles, the names of each motel they didn’t pay for the rooms, all the banks & businesses robbed, detailed descriptions of each location of stashed money, all the makes & models of the stolen vehicles along with the colors and where they were left when no longer needed by them, detailed descriptions to get to each place he had buried the two babies Ruth had miscarried, all the times the older brother held him at either gunpoint or knife point to get him to do his bidding right up until right now. All of it… right in his hands…

Dan just sat there gobsmacked at the young man’s capacity to remember so many little details. “How did he do it?” Dan wondered. Reading through the accounts, he began to understand why this young man was so afraid of his brother. The older brother had absolutely no conscience. He took what he wanted, had no qualms about killing a person, or an unborn child, and had no problem using women as pawns in his game. The man was like a demon, torturing and killing as he went. He saw what Jack meant about the brother starting to become sloppy in planning and making more and more mistakes. It was evident in the writing. Ruth and Bars were the man’s only apparent weakness lately. Jack had wrote that the more the brother had to drink, the more he messed up, but that it also made the older brother MUCH more unpredictable and violent. He sat and pondered how they could lure this deranged brother into a successful trap. And that is how both Jack and Joe found him a half- hour later when they came into the motel room.


	30. PHONE CALLS, SCREAMS & MEMORIES

Chapter 30  
PHONE CALLS, SCREAMS & MEMORIES

  
Henry was cleaning up the table from Supper while Bo and Peggy got Sunshine ready for bed. He was standing by the phone on the wall, scraping the leftovers into the composting bucket when the phone rang. He jumped and quickly yells, “I’ll get it!!” and quickly sets the plate down on the counter and answers the phone. It was Sophie calling to tell him that the Carltons said she can bring the dog up for Sunshine & Boaz tomorrow if it was still ok. Henry assures her that is fine. She tells him that Joe will call in a while and fill them in on the evening’s trip and incident at Louie’s. She asks how Sunshine is doing and he tells her that Sunshine sat in the wheelchair for a little bit and had some supper at the table with them. She is happy to hear that and tells him she has to go now. She will see him soon. They hang up and he goes back to cleaning up. A little while later the phone rings again, “I’ll get it!” he hollers.

“Hello Abram’s residence.” Henry said.   
“Henry, is that you?” Joe asked.   
“Yup, Joe, it’s me. What’s up? Did you all make it back to town in one piece?”   
Joe laughs, “Yeah, we made it back ok. I made a muddy mess in Dan’s truck tho…he wasn’t too happy about that.”   
Henry chuckles. “I’m sure he wasn’t. So are you calling me here cuz he tossed you in jail for punishment?” Henry teased.  
Joe cackles at the thought, “Bwhahhahahaaha, noooo! We stopped at Louie’s for supper and had an interesting development happen. That’s what I needed to talk to you about.”  
Henry tells Joe to hang on a moment so he can go grab a chair and sit while they talk. Henry grabs the chair from the corner of the dining room that he had placed there earlier in the evening. He sets it down by the phone and picks up the receiver again. 

“Ok Joe, now spill it.” Joe tells him about Jack walking up to them and offering to help them trap his brother into being arrested if they will promise not to prosecute Jack and help him start a new life out from under the control of the older brother. He tells Henry what all Jack had told them and where he and Dan were now, waiting for the 9pm phone call from the older brother.   
He tells Henry that Jack really misses Sunshine, or as he called her, Ruth, and that he wants to see her again whenever she is ready to see him. He tells Henry that Jack just wants to apologize to her for everything that has happened to her and wish her well and understands if she doesn’t want to ever see him again.  


Henry is shocked by the new developments. “Well I’ll be!!! Have you called the Sheriffs in ND yet to let them know?” Henry wants to know what they will think of the matter.   
“I tried calling them, but no one is there right now. No one is answering at this time of night. Can you call them in the morning, Henry? Dan said to tell them both the ND cases are linked as is our case here. They all lead back to these brothers… well the older one at least.” Joe tells him. 

“Sure, Joe, I’ll give them a call in the morning. So, what are you guys going to do with this young man now that he has come forward with this information?” Henry inquires.   
“Dan had him write a manifesto.” Joe laughs. “You should’ve seen the poor guy scribbling away! Dan wanted every detail the poor lad could remember. I expect it’s going to be an interesting read when he’s done.   
The older brother is going to call this lad around 9pm to talk about what they have discovered, if anything, and make plans to find this Ruth.

Apparently, the older brother wants to silence her and keep her from ratting on them. The irony is that the older brother has absolutely no clue that the younger brother is tired of running and hiding and has already ratted him out, and is working with us to set him up to be arrested and charged. Dan and I will sit in on the phone call so that no important info is given to the older brother. Then we will take the young man to the jail for now until we can figure out how to trap the older brother.”   


Henry sits there listening to Joe ramble and is amazed how quickly the puzzle pieces are falling into place for these cases. “It’s too easy,” he thinks to himself, “this is a dangerous game to be playing.”   
Joe finally tells him that they will hold the younger brother for the time being in the jail; and are going to have a meeting tomorrow at the jail with the local sheriffs to brainstorm how to catch this older brother.   
“You still sure you don’t want to come out of retirement for this one Henry?” Joe asks him, laughing. 

“You two are doing just fine without me muddling in things, Joe. I’ll stay here and be bodyguard for Bo & Sunshine. You guys be careful, this just feels too easy and I’m uneasy how quickly puzzle pieces are falling into place. Something’s gotta give. Watch your backs with this older brother, Joe. He is unpredictable and has effectively evaded the law for nigh on a decade. He won’t be easy to trick or to catch, Especially if he has gone a mile off his rocker.

It’s getting late, Joe you better get going if you’re going to make it back in time for that 9pm phone call. Call here tomorrow and let me know how things are going. Ok?”   
“Ok, Henry. Thanks!” Joe hangs up and so does Henry. He stands with a sigh and finishes cleaning off the dishes and rinses them all off. Bo needs to know what is going on. He walks quietly over to the bedroom where the young woman is staying. Bo is holding her in his arms like a reverse piggy back, and Peg then helps him get the woman situated in bed. Henry shrugs, it can wait till morning. He doesn’t want Bo staying up all night worrying about this. So Henry quietly turns and heads into the guest bedroom and gets ready for bed. He lays down and quickly falls asleep.

  
**********

All is quiet in the cabin when Boaz suddenly wakes up wide awake. Something isn’t right and he isn’t sure what it is. He gets up and checks the cabin’s doors. They are both locked still, so it’s not that. He is walking past the bedroom door when he hears a moan. He stops and listens again, he hears Peg quietly murmuring something and then it gets quiet again. Bo goes over to the fireplace and looks at the mantle clock. It’s 2am. Why is he wide awake??? 

He squats down over the fireplace hearth and grabs a handful of tinder and places it in the fireplace, then he strikes a match and lights it, slowly adding larger sticks and wood pieces until he has a decent fire going. He sits in one of the wingback chairs staring at the fireplace. He is warm and decides to take his shirt off, he stinks and makes a mental note to take a shower once everyone starts waking up. He is sitting there for about a half hour, thinking about everything that has been happening when he suddenly hears a terrifying scream from the bedroom and hears Peg call out for him.

He gets up and runs over to the door. He sees Sunshine curled in a ball and crying and Peg is trying to get her to sit up and Sunshine is having none of it. Peg had turned on both the bedside lamps. Sunshine is holding her stomach and seems to be in pain. Suddenly Henry is there next to him and gives him a nudge, “Don’t just stand there, Bo, go help!” 

Bo carefully walks in and grabs his stethoscope. He walks over to the bed and squats down near Sunshine’s head. He calls out to her and strokes her head, “Sweetheart, what’s the matter? Did you have another bad memory?”   
She either is lost in the memory or can’t hear him. He tries again, a little louder, but gets the same response. He looks up at Peg with questioning eyes. “What happened that made her do this?” He quietly asks.   
She shrugs. “I don’t know, Bo. She was whimpering a little bit then calmed down and I thought she might have just moved and had a twinge of pain that made her whimper. Then suddenly she lets out a scream and curls into a ball like this and is crying.

“Peg, see if you can check her down there, I assume she is still bleeding from the miscarriage a few days ago. See if it has gotten worse again.” Her eyes get wide and she immediately understands his train of thought. He scoots up onto the bed and picks up Sunshine’s head and cradles it in his lap. He murmurs to her that she is going to be ok and that they are here to help her. He listens to her lungs and heart and aside from the increased heart rate and breathing, she seems fine. He pets her head and feels her forehead to see if the fever is back. Surprised, he finds her face cool and damp from sweat. She lets Peg check “down there” without much fuss. Peg shakes her head “no” and he sighs in relief. Henry comes over to stand by him. “What’s the matter with her, Bo?” He asks quietly. 

“I think she had another flashback.” Bo says. We will just have to comfort her as much as we can for now till she wakes up and can tell us about it.” She is whimpering again and tries to curl up tighter, but the pain from her ribs and back are making it impossible for her to do so. “Shhhhh, Sweetheart, relax. You’re safe. No one is going to hurt you. Come on now, Honey. Wake up. Ruth, Honey, open your eyes and look at me.” He murmurs to her as he holds her chin and runs his thumb along her cheek, drying away the tears that lingered there. “Ruth,” he calls her again, a little louder, “Ruth, Sweetheart, wake up!”

She finally begins to calm down about a half hour later, and slowly opens her eyes. She is groggy and in pain and confused why there is so many people around her. She looks up at Bo, who has her head cradled in his lap. She has the faint feeling of DeJa’Vu, but can’t remember why. She notices he looks tired and frightened and very concerned all at the same time. He is petting her head and is holding her face with his other hand. She turns her head to look at Peg. Peg looks the same way, but then she suddenly smiles and says, “Well look at that! You can open both eyes now!!!” 

She feels Bo’s hand turn her head back so he can see. She scrunches her eyes closed again. “Come on, Honey. Ruth, please let me see your eyes.” He whispers to her in his velvety, smooth as chocolate voice as he leans closer to her head. She slowly opens her eyes to see his startlingly blue ones looking right into hers. He smiles a warm and happy smile when he sees she can open both eyes. “How is the vision in this one?” he asks as he gently moves his hand near her right eye. “Can you see anything out of it?”   
She scrunches her eyes closed when she sees his hand coming near her right eye. “Ruth, Honey, open your eye for me again. I’m not going to hurt you, Sweetheart. I just want to know if you can see out of it. You took some pretty hard hits to the eye socket and I wasn’t sure how much damage you had to your eye.” 

She cautiously opens her eyes again. He asks her to close her left eye and keep the right one open. She does, and then he asks her if she can see his hand in front of her eye. She nods. He asks her how many fingers is he holding up. She holds up two of her fingers and he smiles. Since he had held up two. He asks her if she can see Peggy’s face who was a little farther away. She nods. He lets out a sigh of relief. “Well she isn’t blind in it, thank God. I’ll do more testing on it later when it’s daylight.” 

“Sweetheart, can you tell us why you were curled in a ball and crying a little bit ago. You gave us all quite a scare when you screamed like you did.” Peggy asks her. Sunshine blushed and tried to hide her face against Bo’s leg, turning her head so her hair flopped over her face. He chuckled, and gently brushed it aside so she couldn’t hide. 

“Come on, honey. It’s ok. We won’t get upset or judge you. Don’t ever feel embarrassed for having these flashbacks. It’s pretty normal considering what all you went through. It’s your brain’s way of trying to deal with everything. Do you want to draw for a little bit? It seemed to help you with the last one.” She nods and tries to scoot up more but stops when it hurts to do it. 

Bo sees her try to move herself closer to him and grimace in pain. “Sweetheart, do you want to sit up and lean against me like you did before?” She looks up at him with sad puppy dog eyes and nods. The look melts his heart and he says, “Ok, honey, let me get you situated so you can sit up comfortably as you can. Henry, can you grab those pillows over there on the chair?” Henry nods and moves over to get them. 

Peg climbs out of bed and helps Bo turn Sunshine onto her back. Sunshine hisses and bites her lip when her back touches the mattress and she tries to arch her back so it isn’t touching anything. She feels Bo put his hand on her belly and tells her, “Breathe, Sweetheart. I know this kinda hurts, but you gotta breathe. Relax your back and let it touch the mattress. Don’t’ bite your lip, you’ll make it bleed again. Remember, it’s ok if you need to cry out. Just don’t do it right in my ear ok?” 

She relaxes and starts to giggle at his last statement. It makes her forget about arching her back and she lets it relax, but then cries out when her back touches the mattress again. “It’s ok, honey. It’s ok. Just take some slow breaths. We won’t move you the rest of the way till you’re ready.” She nods. He gives her a few moments and then asks, “Ready?” She nods when the pain finally passes.

Remember how we did this last time?” he asks her as he starts to lean over to pick her up into a sitting position. She nods and reaches up to put her arm around his neck. He and Peg each slide an arm under her upper thigh after he sits her up, and they each put their other arm around her waist to stabilize her. Bo counts to 3 and they lift her and slide her back towards the headboard. Peg pulls the pillows into position so it’s comfortable for Sunshine. Sunshine has a hold on Bo’s hair again and is whimpering when her butt and back touch the fabric. Bo grimaces when he realizes it. “What are you going to grab onto when I get a haircut?” he teases her as he pries off her fingers from his hair.

He looks down at her and she is frowning and looks sad. “Don’t you want me to get it cut?” he asks her. She shakes her head, ‘no’. He is surprised. “You like my hair shaggy like this?” She looks up at him and nods, then blushes deep red and looks down into her lap and fidgets with the blanket.

Henry and Peg giggle. Bo just shakes his head and climbs onto the bed next to her and sits down once they are situated, she leans her head on his shoulder and lets out a little sigh, then links her arm like before and looks at Henry who is holding the journal and pencils. He grins and hands the book to Bo and then asks her if she wants the pencils in her lap like last time. She nods so he pours them into her lap. He notices several are dull and goes to get the pencil sharpener.   
She watches him pull it out of the box and brings it back over. She is confused what it is and he shows her how it works. Her eyes get huge when he shows her that it sharpens the pencils. He sharpens her drawing one and hands it to her. Then he sharpens the other dull pencils in her lap. She takes the drawing pencil Henry handed her and looks at Bo, he flips the book open and finds the next blank page for her. 


	31. GRIEVING LOSSES

Chapter 31   
GRIEVING LOSSES

  
She closes her eyes for a minute, and thinks back to the flashback she just had. She is unsure how to draw it so that they understand what it was about. She opens her eyes and starts to draw herself pregnant on the left side of the page. Then she draws a vertical line and draws her being attacked and beaten in a bed. Then draws another vertical line and draws her laying in a bathtub covered in blood and bruises.

She flips the page and draws a picture of a man stripping off the bed sheets and another of him putting on new sheets and blankets. She then draws one of her being bandaged up by him, and then one of him sitting against the headboard of the bed, holding her head in his lap as she is curled up and holding her belly and crying. Then she draws a vertical line and draws a headstone with a little blue baby’s hat hanging on the side of it and on the headstone was the name, Joseph Anthony Turner with the date it was born and died, and RIP under the dates.

They all watched as she drew, fascinated by how quickly she was able to draw left-handed and then quickly they realized what her flashback was and why she had screamed.

“Sweetheart, was that the first time you ever miscarried?” Peggy asked quietly.   
Sunshine hung her head and nodded. Bo felt like his heart wanted to break. He could feel his shoulder getting wet again as she cried into it silently. He set the book down and took the pencil and placed it in her lap with the others. He reached back to her arm and just simply held her hand and rubbed his thumb back and forth over the top of it. “Honey, was that your first pregnancy?” he asked her in a low, quiet voice. 

She squeezed his hand and nodded. He reaches over with his free hand and runs it over her mass of curls. “Oh, Sweetheart, I’m SO sorry it ended like that for you. First pregnancies should be happy times, not like what you experienced. My wife and I lost our first child two years ago. I lost my wife shortly after she gave birth to our daughter. I understand your pain, Sweetheart. I truly do.” She held his hand and leaned into his shoulder. 

Peg and Henry looked at each other and nodded. “Bo, we’ll give you two some time to talk and grieve. Call me when you need me to help with anything, ok?”

He looks up at them and nods. They leave and go sit by the fireplace in the wingback chairs and just hold hands. Bo looks back down to Sunshine and he just holds her hand and pets her hair, running his fingers gently through her ringlets. He can feel her relaxing and her sobbing is quieting down. “Honey, when we first found you on the side of the road you were pregnant. Was that your second pregnancy?” he felt her stiffen. He waited, not wanting to push her. After a couple minutes, she shook her head, no. 

Surprised, he asked, “Sweetheart, how many times have you been pregnant?” she squeezed his hand and began to cry again. He gently squeezed her hand trying to reassure it was ok, “Shhhh, Sweetheart, it’s ok. I know you were raped. When we had to examine you, it looked like it had happened quite a lot and over a long period of time. I’m sorry it happened to you and please understand, it wasn’t your fault. None of this was your fault. You were caught in the crossfire, so to speak.” She clung to his arm and wept. He reached up and just held her and let her cry. 

Finally, when she had quieted down again, she held up three fingers. At first he didn’t understand. When she saw the confused look on his face, she pointed to her belly and held up 3 fingers. 

“This was your third pregnancy?” he asked wanting to make sure he understood correctly. She nodded. 

“So where is the second baby you were pregnant with?” She reached for the book again. He took it from her and held it for her. She drew a vertical line next to the headstone picture and drew a second one, this time with a pink baby bonnet and the name, Hope Emily Gray. Below the name she wrote the dates and RIP below that.

  
He rubbed his face with his free hand. “Wow, she has lost three babies now. How am I going to tell her she lost this last one too?” he wondered. She must’ve felt the tension in him and looked up into his face. He looked down at her. She looked so sad and she must’ve seen the sadness in his eyes too. 

She picked up the pencil and flipped to the page with just writing on it. She wrote: _I’m sorry you lost your wife and first child. I lost my husband in a farm accident when I was 3 months pregnant. I never got the chance to tell him he was going to be a daddy. It’s hard to lose people we love, isn’t it?_

He looked down at her handwriting and then up at her face. “Yes, it sure is, Sweetheart. I’m sorry for your losses. Do you remember anything from when you were in the hospital after we found you?” She thinks for a minute then writes: _Not really. Just being in a lot of pain and my tummy hurting really bad and then it quit hurting._

He rubs his face and she sees something is bothering him. She reaches up with a shaky hand and touches his hand that is rubbing his face. He takes it in his hand, gives it a gentle kiss and looks down at her with glassy eyes. “Honey, do you know why your stomach hurt so bad in the hospital?” she shakes her head, ‘no’. Do you remember how it felt when you lost your first two babies? She nods then her eyes get big and start to fill with tears. 

He reaches down, gently grasps her chin and says, “I’m SO sorry, honey. We did everything we could to try to save him. But he had gotten several injuries and it was too much for his little body. We cleaned him up when he was stillborn, and Dan took pictures for evidence for the case, and for the medical records. You remember meeting Joe? She thinks and nods. He is the one who sang to you before we brought you here. Well he felt so bad that you lost your little one, and he offered to pay for a little casket for it and he named the little guy for you since you weren’t awake. I hope you don’t mind. The tears that had built up in her eyes, started to trickle down her cheeks as she looked up at him. 

His heart broke for her and they both sat there with tears running down their faces. After a while, she calmed down again and picked up the pencil and motioned for him to pick up the book. He does and watches her write: _What did Joe name my son?_ He looked down at her and quietly said, “Jack Anthony. Joe named him after two of his best friends from when he was growing up. We didn’t give him a last name cuz we didn’t know your name. We left enough space at the end of the certificates and chart and the little cross Henry made for him so we could add it if and when we found out what last name you wanted him to have.” 

  
“Jack… Jack… why does that name sound so familiar???” She couldn’t remember, and it was just out of reach and she just couldn’t remember why she felt that the name was important to her. She wasn’t paying attention to what Bo was saying. Suddenly she felt his hand on her face. “Sweetheart? You ok? Did you hear what I asked you?”

“Hmmm?” She responded as she snapped out of her musing.

“I said we gave little Jack a burial in the little cemetery I have here where my wife and daughter are buried. Is that ok with you? I can show it to you once you are able to walk again. I asked my wife and daughter to take care of him and to be kind to his little spirit.” He asks her as he looks down at her bewildered face. He sees her eyes fill with tears and she nods then buries her face in his arm again and weeps. 

He gently lifts his arm up and gently pulls her over, so she is resting against his chest. Her head near the crook of his shoulder. He suddenly realizes he has no shirt on and that he hadn’t showered in a few days. He blushes at how this must look. She doesn’t seem to be bothered so he leaves it alone. He can feel her getting heavier on his chest and realizes she has fallen asleep.  
He isn’t sure how to get Peg’s attention without waking up the woman. So he just waits patiently. He strokes her soft hair and thinks about what all she shared with him. He marvels at her endurance. He couldn’t imagine losing three children back to back like that because of being beaten. He couldn’t imagine all the emotional turmoil she must have endured at the hands of these brothers.

He is lost in thought, absentmindedly playing with her hair and doesn’t register that Henry and Peg have gotten up and are standing in the doorway looking at them. Peg’s giggling brings him out of his thoughts, and he looks up at them. She smiles and walks over to him and gently sits down on the bed. “You look like you were deep in thought about something, Bo. Are you ok?” 

He looks down at the sleeping woman in his arm. “Just amazed at her endurance and was thinking about all that she just shared combined with what little we knew about her. Peg she lost her husband before she even got a chance to tell him she was pregnant with their first child, and then she loses that child because of the beating she got from this deranged man who is now looking for her. He got her pregnant two more times via rape and he has now killed those two babies as well by beating her till she lost them. Peg, her first three children she ever conceived were all killed by the same man! Not to mention all the psychological, emotional, physical and sexual abuse she has suffered from him. I am amazed she has survived it all. How is she even able to be comfortable doing this?” he says indicating her resting against his bare chest.

Henry gives a soft chuckle. “Because she trusts you, Bo. You have shown her great kindness and infinite patience and have not beaten her or manhandled her inappropriately. You always explain what you are going to do with her and why before you do it, so she knows what to expect and you always give her time to voice an objection. You leave things in her control, asking her if things are ok, asking her if she wants to do something, like joining us for supper. You always apologize and try to comfort her when you have to move her and it causes pain. It’s all those little things that add up, Bo. You bought her a very expensive blanket just to make sure she had something that gave her a small sense of security and comfort, you bought her new clothing and toiletries, which she probably hasn’t had in a very long time, and all of it were either her favourite color or something based on what she liked. You thought about her feelings and likes, bought her books and a magazine to look at when she got bored, and showed an interest in something she liked… birds.

You let her snuggle against you when she is scared, and for some reason she feels safe in your presence now. You hold her journal so she can draw or write, which gives her the ability to communicate with us. It’s all these little things, Bo, that have caused her to know that she can trust you. You’ve made some incredible steps with her just in the last few days. Now I think it’s time we all get some more rest. Let’s get her lying back down so she can sleep more comfortably and so we all can get back to sleep.”  
Bo nods and looks down at Sunshine. He moves to slide out from under her and she whimpers and reaches for him. He freezes and looks at Henry who is trying not to giggle. “I guess you get to be her pillow then.” He says to Bo who rolls his eyes.

“Come on, Sweetheart, let’s lay you down so you can be more comfortable and get some sleep.” He says to her as he gently tries to pry her off of him. “Mmm mmm.” She mumbles as she grabs hold of his arm and clings to it. Peg chuckles… “I think you just replaced the security blanket, Bo.” He gives her a look and raises an eyebrow. “So now what do I do.” He says quietly to them. 

Peg thinks for a minute… “Bo, whenever she has the flashbacks it seems to be at night lately. I wonder if she would panic as much if you were there next to her instead of me or Sophie.” He looks at her incredulous. “You mean, you think if I slept here next to her, she might not be as panicked when she has them?” Peg nods. “It’s worth a try. She needs to get rest, Bo. She isn’t sleeping well and hasn’t been in a deep sleep unless she is laying against you.” Just give it a try, see if it helps her get some rest. You don’t have to lay under the blankets with her. I can grab you some blankets to cover yourself with and you can just lay on top of the blankets next to her. 

He looks at Henry for help thinking this suggestion is HIGHLY inappropriate. Henry just chuckles and says, “Just try it Bo, if it doesn’t work, we can try something else. Maybe the younger brother did this with her to comfort her after his older brother finished beating and raping her, and that is why she clings to you.”

“You both realize this is HIGHLY inappropriate for a doctor to be doing with a patient.” Bo says in protest. Peg and Henry chuckle. “Bo, this is a highly unusual circumstance, and if it means she gets rest to heal faster, isn’t it worth it? Maybe we can replace you with the dog when it arrives tomorrow when Dan and Sophie bring it up. She called right after you two went to get Sunshine ready for bed to let me know about the dog. She said Joe was going to call later and fill me in on the rest of the evening’s developments, which he did.” Henry informs Bo. 

Bo raises an annoyed eyebrow. “What developments?” Bo asks. “I’ll tell you in the morning when you are out of the young lady’s earshot.” Henry replies, smirking. “For now, get some sleep.” Bo sighs, “Peg, help me lay her down on her left side. I’ll lay down next to her so she is facing me and can see I’m right there if she wakes up.” Peg nods and helps him scoot Sunshine down into a side laying position. They cover her with her blankets, Bo flips the purple one, so he isn’t laying on it and lays down next to her on top of the covers. Peg grabs a blanket for him to cover himself with then flops the purple blanket back over him. She tells him that she will sleep on the sofa and to let her know if they need anything.


	32. MORNING REVELATIONS

Chapter 32   
MORNING REVELATIONS

  
Peg and Henry say goodnight and go back to bed. Bo lays there next to this woman with the mop of curly hair and he can’t sleep now. He keeps thinking about her and wonders why in the world she wants to snuggle with him now and why she isn’t afraid of him like she was before. He tries to put himself into her shoes mentally, but just can’t wrap his brain around all that she has endured. He can’t fathom it. He lays there on his back, looking up at the ceiling watching the light from the moon creep across the ceiling. It’s been a long time since he has slept in this room. He starts to think of all the things Henry had listed that may have gotten him in this predicament.

Suddenly he hears Sunshine whimper a little and start to curl up again. He turns on his side a little and reaches out to touch her face. “I’m here, Sweetheart, don’t be afraid. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” He quietly whispers to her. He kisses her forehead. “Go back to sleep now. I’ll stay right here.” He says quietly. She grabs hold of his arm that is resting on the bed and clings to it, but falls back into a deep sleep. He takes his free arm and cradles her face, his fingers twining into her curly hair. He scoots closer to her till her head is close to his chest. He wraps his fingers over the top of her hand that is holding his arm and he finally dozes off.

When he wakes up a few hours later, he finds that somehow Sunshine has snuggled right up against him and has her left ear against his chest. He looks down and realizes she is going to probably have a very sore neck when she wakes up. Then it hits him like a ton of bricks being dumped on his chest…he realized what she was wanting. She wanted to hear his heartbeat… something calming and steady and familiar. He thought back to the day he had let her listen to her own heartbeat and his and Peg’s and Sophie’s with his stethoscope. It seemed to calm her down and he realized, suddenly, that is when she started letting her guard down with him and letting him get closer. 

He looks down at her again and pities her. He finds himself wondering how long she was married for and what her husband was like. He wonders why she didn’t get a chance to tell him about the baby, and if the man she married treated her well, or not.   
She suddenly sighs and shifts slightly, still clinging onto his right arm. She seemed to crave security and being embraced physically, like being wrapped in a blanket. He wondered if that was her coping mechanism for dealing with all the abuse she suffered. It surprised him that she would crave such an intimate embrace when she had been so abused physically and sexually. Maybe it wasn’t just simply touch she craved, maybe it was the intent behind it. 

He suddenly remembered the section of a course he took that taught them about victims of abuse. Abuse like what she suffered was humiliating and degrading. It left it’s victims feeling filthy, broken, worthless and used. He remembered in his clinicals, an abuse victim he was helping to treat had mentioned she felt like unwanted trash, garbage tossed to the side of the road after it had served its usefulness and purpose. Is that how Sunshine felt…broken and worthless? Maybe she just wanted to feel loved and cherished and valued. Maybe she was trying to find out if she still had a purpose in life and was wanted and not just someone’s throwaway, broken trash. He suddenly realized she had no spouse to go home to. She must not have parents or siblings to help her since she was left alone in a field during harvest while pregnant.

That thought gave him a new insight to her behavior and he decided to help her see herself as a whole person and not a broken shell of who she once was. The thought of her feeling broken and worthless reminded him of a Church tour his grandmother took him to on a trip to England one time. They went on a tour of all the churches that had stained glass windows. He remembered being quite young, maybe 10 or 12 then. 

His grandmother was fascinated by how they were made and had brought him with to learn about it with her. He remembered her saying, “Isn’t it amazing how an artist can take all these broken pieces of glass and make something so beautiful?!? He remembers looking up at the windows in awe of the riot of colored glass. He remembered his grandmother saying, “Bo, Jesus does the same thing to us when we feel broken, but we have to be willing to let go of the pieces and give them to him before he can create a masterpiece like these.” 

He never understood what she meant by that. But laying there thinking about the stained glass and then what that abuse victim he treated when he was in clinicals in school had said, and then looking at Sunshine, with her body broken and bandaged lying next to him; it finally clicked what his grandmother had meant. He remembered how he felt so lost and heartbroken when his wife and daughter died, and thought about how much more Sunshine must feel like that after losing all she had. He finally understood what his Grandmother meant by feeling broken and worthless and letting God have the broken pieces so he could make a masterpiece, new and beautiful, out of the brokenness.

He decided that when she was feeling up to it, he would take her to one of the local churches that had stained glass windows to show them to her and explain to her how they were made, like his grandmother explained to him. He hoped it would encourage her, like the revelation was now encouraging him. 

He sighed, contentedly; realizing it was near dawn now. He looked down at Sunshine once again and realized her eyes were open and she was studying his face. He smiled at her and gently brushed a ringlet from her eyes. “Morning Sunshine. Did you sleep better with me here?” she blushed and nodded, “MmmmHmm.” He heard her murmur. He smiled and kissed her forehead. She snuggled into his arm. “Doesn’t your neck hurt, laying like that?” She just grunts. “You know, there’s an easier way for you to hear my heart beating that doesn’t give you such a crick in the neck.” He teases. “I can get you my stethoscope if you want.” She giggles and shakes her head, and just pushes her head against his chest. He chuckles and she hears it reverberating deep in his chest. She just sighs and lays there snuggled into his side. “You know, I’d almost be willing to say, that if you were a cat, you’d be purring right now.” he teases. She nods. He reaches over and pets her soft head of curls. “nice kitty!” he teases with a twinkle in his eyes. She giggles. 

They lay like that for a while till Bo’s bladder makes it clear he needs to get up. “Sorry Sweetheart, but nature calls and I need to go answer it. Do you want me to have Peg come in and help you get cleaned up. We’ll need to change out the bandages again since you fell asleep on us last night and we didn’t have the heart to wake you to do that.” She groans and doesn’t move. He chuckles and starts to get up and she hisses at him, just like a cat. He looks at her surprised for a moment and then smiles. “Oh hush, I’ll be right back you little minx!” He teases her.

She beams at him and he just chuckles and walks out the door, stretching. “It’s good to see her being so playful and smiling without grimacing. She really does have a pretty smile. Her face must be feeling better.” He thinks as he steps out into the living room and heads for the bathroom. 

A few minutes and an empty bladder later, he walks out of the bathroom and hears Peg chattering to Sunshine. He just stands there in the doorway observing the two who are oblivious to his presence. Henry comes up behind him quietly and places a hand on his shoulder. “Bo, we need to talk about the phone call I got last night from Joe.” He quietly says to Bo so as to not draw the women’s attention to them. Bo looks at him and nods. They walk into the kitchen and Bo pours a cup of coffee that someone had already made. 

He sits down at the kitchen table and looks at Henry, who fills him in on what happened at the diner last night to Dan, Sophie and Joe. Bo looks at him totally surprised. “He did what?! You mean the younger brother just walked up to them and basically said, ‘I’m tired of running and my brother treating me like crap and I’m tired of watching him hurt people. If I rat him out and help you capture him, will you let me off scott free and help me start my life over?’”

Henry chuckles and says, “Well, I suppose that’s one way of putting it. Dan asked the young man to write down everything that happened starting from the beginning. And told him to put in as many descriptions, and details as he could remember. Joe just called back a little bit ago and said that the kid wrote a manifesto. Two full notepads and he had written on both the front and backs of all the pages! Joe said the kid’s penmanship is really small, but is easy to read. He said the kid has a photographic memory or something due to the amount of details the kid could recall even after a decade. 

He also said to tell you the young man wants to see Sunshine whenever she feels like she is ready and willing to see him. He wants to apologize to her for all she had to suffer through and Joe said it seemed like the young man wanted to make peace with her and just try to move on with their lives. Dan told him that the young man had said his relationship with Sunshine was like a big brother looking out and trying to protect his little sister. Dan was concerned that there might have been some kind of love triangle between the three of them, but the young man assured him there was no such thing.

He said that Sunshine apparently changes behavior somehow when the older brother is around her. He described it as she ‘becomes an empty shell and won’t respond to anything until the older brother leaves, then she just would curl up against the younger brother and cry and want him to just hold her.’”

Bo, suddenly realizes that is what she was doing after the flashbacks she would have. She would always cry and cling to someone, wanting to be held and reassured that she was going to be ok. He nods. “Thanks for the info Henry. Did Joe say what they were going to do with the brother?”

“Joe said they were going to toss him in the jail, but he informed them that the older brother was going to be calling him at 9pm and that if he wasn’t there to answer the call, that the brother would come looking for him and most likely kill him when he was found. So they went to the motel room and stayed there with him till after the call, then they took him over to the jail until they could verify his story. 

Joe said one of them was planning on coming out here to talk to Sunshine and see if she could verify the young man’s story, hopefully today.” Bo rubbed his chin and took a swig of coffee.

“Henry, I’m not sure she is ready to read this young man’s writings if it’s recounting everything they went through. You’ve seen how she is just after each of the flashbacks she has had. This could set her back quite a bit if she isn’t prepared to read that in the detail he apparently included.” Bo says worriedly.

“Damn, I wish she would talk, it would be so much easier than her drawing or writing everything out.” Bo says, frustrated by the way things were going suddenly.   
“It might be a blessing in disguise, Bo. She is quite an accomplished artist. Those drawings she did might be useful in the court cases. The drawings of the three of them, especially the one of them in the truck, were almost spot on. Did you look at the drawings of the brothers from the ND files?” Henry inquires.

“No, not really, Henry, why?” “Because her drawings are almost identical to those drawn by the artist in ND who drew them in the wanted posters. The only difference is that Sunshine’s have color!”   
Bo looks at Henry, surprised. “Hmm,” Bo says, “she never did draw the one you asked her to draw that night she had the flashback about being whipped. Maybe you should ask her if she can draw it for you before Dan or Joe arrive. Then we can show them the other pictures she has drawn too, in context. “Good idea, Bo.” Henry says. Hopefully the opportunity to ask her will present itself.

Just then they hear Peg calling for Bo. They both get up and hurry to the room. Peg is there holding a trembling Sunshine. He rushes over and asks her what happened. “I’m not sure, Bo. I was telling her how Henry and Sophie met at a street dance, and suddenly I look over and she was like this. Bo squats down so his face is close to Sunshine’s. Her eyes seem far away like she isn’t seeing him. She is trembling and isn’t responding to touch at all. She doesn’t even blink when he brings his hands up near her eyes. “Oh, Sweetheart!” he says as he cups her face gently. “Ruth, look at me honey, come back and look at me.” He gently says as he brushes his thumbs on her cheeks. She doesn’t respond. He looks up at Henry, worried. Is this what Joe meant by “…she becomes an empty shell that won’t respond to anything…”? 

Henry shrugs and has a worried look on his face. “I guess so,” 

Bo looks back at Sunshine. “It’s like she has withdrawn deep inside herself out of fear of someone or something.”   
Peg nods and says. “I’ve only seen it happen once before in an abuse case a long time ago.” She says to Bo.   
“What did you do to get her to come back to the real world, Peg?” Bo asks, looking at her concerned. 

She looks at him with a sad expression. “No matter what we tried she didn’t come back. She refused to eat and drink and eventually her body just gave out. We didn’t have the luxury of Iv fluids like we do now, Bo. I’m not sure what the trigger was, this isn’t like the other flashbacks she has had. This one is different. Maybe it’s a deeper wound that is being triggered, I don’t know. I’m going to go draw her a bath, maybe it will help her to relax. The wounds have closed up enough now that they shouldn’t break open if immersed in water for a while will they?” She asks Bo.

Bo grimaces, let’s get her on her belly and take a look at her back and make sure they are all completely closed. We need to change the bandages anyway.   
Henry tells them he will leave them to it and get them some breakfast made. When he leaves, they turn Sunshine on her belly. She doesn’t even respond with a whimper. Bo is getting more concerned at her lack of response to pain. He looks up at Peg, her face is showing the same kind of concern. They cut away the old bandages and carefully peal the giant sheet off of her back. 

Peg goes to get a basin of warm water and a clean washcloth. She comes back with them and hands Bo the bar of lavender soap, hoping the scent will relax Sunshine’s mind and help her cope with whatever has terrified her. She tucks towels under the sides of Sunshine’s body and nods for Bo to begin. She sits near Sunshine’s head and observes for any kind of a reaction. Bo carefully washes Sunshine’s back and inspects the stitches and wounds. It’s been 3 days since he put them in… or was it 4 days now? He wasn’t sure anymore. As one day seems to have blended into the next. The wounds were healing nicely. Still red, but they weren’t open and weren’t festering any liquids, so no sign of infection. Most were still scabbing, and a few rough edges would catch on the washcloth. Sunshine didn’t flinch, didn’t moan, and didn’t even whimper. Bo frowned. 

“Why would talking about Dan and Sophie meeting at a street dance cause her to retreat inwardly like this?” he was totally baffled. He applied the ointment carefully to her wounds and told Peg no bath for her yet. He didn’t want her sitting in water in this catatonic state. They had absolutely no way to tell if something was causing her pain or not.   
Peg nodded. They decided to leave the bandage off for a while and let her skin breathe. Bo covered her butt with a towel though so the ointment wouldn’t get onto the sheets. Then he carefully brought the sheets up to the top edge of the towel on her butt.

He pulled the soft blanket off and bunched it up near her left hand he pried her fingers open and stuffed the soft blanket into her hand and then wrapped her fingers around it. He set her hand back down on the mattress and then carefully picked up her head and pulled another corner of the blanket over so it was under where her head had been. He smoothed it out and then placed her face on it.   
Squatting down near her face, he caressed it with his hand. “Come on, Sweetheart, come back to us. We miss your beautiful smile and we were just starting to have fun getting to know you. He leaned over and kissed her cheek and then got up and sighed. We’ve done all we can for now, Peg. Keep an eye on her and let me know if anything changes. He walks over to the desk and grabs the book on birds and walks out to the fireplace and sits down.

Henry walks over with Bo’s cup of coffee and hands it to him.   
“No change?”   
Bo shakes his head. “Henry, I get what triggered the other flashbacks but why would Peg talking about Dan and Sophie meeting at a street dance send her into such a deep retreat internally like this?”  
“I don’t know, Bo…” Henry replies. 

After a long pause he gets an idea. “Bo! Dan and Joe have the young man who took care of her for several years! Maybe he could explain it and how to get her out of it!!!” 

Bo looks up at him and they both look to the kitchen… “the phone, I’ll call Dan and see if he will put the kid on the phone and maybe the two of you can figure it out.” Henry says excitedly.   
They get up and go into the kitchen and Henry calls Dan at the Jail. Dan picks up and Henry explains what happened. Dan hollers over to Joe to bring Jack over to him, that there’s someone on the phone who needs to talk to him about Ruth. Henry waits for a few minutes and can hear the jail cell door clink open and hears footsteps. Suddenly he hears an unfamiliar voice say, “Hello?” and they talk for a few minutes. Henry explaining who he is and what has happened to Sunshine. He asks if Jack has any idea what triggered it and how do they get her to come back mentally. 

  
**********

Jack sits there for a minute in stunned silence as he listens to Henry explain what happened to Ruth, whom he calls, Sunshine. He sighs. When Henry asks what triggered this, Jack rubs his face. He closes his eyes and thinks back to the night of the dance when he and Ruth snuck out to go dancing when Ed had passed out drunk. It was one of the rare times when Ruth didn’t have any visible bruises on her face and the ones on her arm could be covered by long sleeves.   
He tells Henry what happened, that they had snuck out to go to the dance and have some fun for once and that his older brother was passed out in the bed in the motel. After they had been gone a couple hours dancing, they heard him bellowing and knew he was furious that they had left and gone out in public. Ed had stormed over to them and made a huge scene about how he was trying to “steal his woman” and dragged her back to the motel and wouldn’t let his little brother near the motel for several hours after that. 

He relayed to Henry how when he was finally allowed to come back in the room, he found Ruth (Sunshine) unconscious and beaten badly. He explained that it took her a full three days to finally regain consciousness and she wouldn’t talk to him for a while after that. Jack explained that the only way he could ever get her out of those regressions was to just lay down next to her, hold her and talk to her about anything other than what happened.   
Jack said that sometimes she pulled out of it quickly, other times it took her several days. There was no way to be sure how long it would take. He asked Henry to please give her a hug from him and to tell her he was sorry for all this mess they ended up in, and that he was incredibly sorry for all the pain they had caused her.

Henry sighed and thanked Jack for the information. Jack thanked Henry for calling and told him to call if he had any other questions regarding Ruth’s experiences or recovery.

  
**********

Henry hung up the phone and relayed everything Jack said to him. Boaz groaned. Well, that was a big step in the reverse direction from where they had been heading. He told Henry he was going to spend the day with Sunshine and that they could head home for a while if they wanted to. 

Henry declined and told him he would stay there and find something to do to stay occupied, maybe go chop some firewood for him. He gave Bo a pat on the back and told him that he hoped Sunshine came out of it soon for all their sakes. Bo nodded then headed for the bedroom. Then paused and decided to take a shower first.

After his shower, Bo felt a little better. He changed clothes in the guest bedroom and then went to spend the day with Sunshine. He quietly told Peg to go talk to Henry and he would explain what had happened. He told her that if there was anything she wanted to do at their house, that she could go do it, she chuckled and told him she wasn’t going anywhere. She said she will find stuff to do here to keep busy. She said to give her a holler if he needed anything or if the situation changes. He gave her a hug and she left the room, pulling the door not quite completely closed on her way out to give them some privacy.

Bo looked over at Sunshine. She was laying on her stomach still. He walked over to her and noticed her eyes were closed now. He wondered if Peg had pushed them closed or if Sunshine had closed them on her own. Bo took his shirt off and laid it on the chair by the bed. He carefully climbed in behind Sunshine and gently turned her onto her left side so she was leaning against his chest. He carefully pulled the purple blanket out from her hand and covered them both with the blanket. He gently wrapped his arm around her waist and pressed his palm against her belly. He took his other hand and brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her cheek. He laid his head down by hers and started to talk to her quietly. 

He apologized for Peg unintentionally triggering a flashback. And told her that they didn’t understand what had happened and why she had retreated like this. He told her that they miss her and how they called Dan. Bo told her that the younger brother named Jack, who had helped her, had gone up to Dan and offered his help to catch the older brother in exchange for this younger brother not being charged with anything. He told Sunshine how Henry had spoken to this younger brother and this Jack told them what happened and explained why she had retreated like this. 

When Bo mentioned the name Jack and that he was the man who had helped her, she responded with a quick intake of breath, almost a shallow breath. Bo paused and brought his head up to look at her. Her eyes were still closed but he could feel her body tense briefly then relax. He spoke again. “Sweetheart, Jack asked Henry to give you a message. I don’t know much about this Jack, but he said to tell you that he was incredibly sorry for all the pain and suffering they have caused you. He is sorry that you got hurt so badly and lost your babies. He said to tell you he would like to see you when you are able and willing to see him so he could apologize in person and ask for your forgiveness.” 

He felt her body shudder and realized she was crying. He lays his head back down and gives her time to process everything. After a few minutes he feels her move her left arm and feels her hand touching his on her belly. She is trying to get her fingers under his and he lifts up his hand a little to see what she does. She shoves her hand under his and interweaves her fingers with his and gives them a small squeeze. He gently squeezes hers back. And slowly lowers his hand back down onto her belly.   
He lifts up his head and gives her a gentle kiss on the shoulder and whispers, “Welcome back, Sweetheart. You gave us a bit of a scare, but I’m glad you came back to us.” she just squeezes his hand and tries to snuggle into his back. She lets out a whimper when she realizes there’s no bandage on her back and she feels some of the stitches catch on the bedding as she squirmed. “Lay still, honey, we wanted to let your back’s wounds breathe a bit now that they have formed scabs. If you move too much, you’ll snag the stitches or the edge of a scab on the bedding.” She stops squirming and nods. 

She brings his hand up to her lips and gives him a kiss on his knuckle. Then places it on her heart. His face gets red when he realizes where exactly his forearm is resting, and that she is not wearing anything to cover her chest, but tries to ignore it. He tries to move his hand back to her belly, but she shakes her head and tries to keep his hand over her heart. She untwines her fingers with his and places his hand flat against her chest and puts her hand on top of his, then pats it gently. He doesn’t understand why she wants it there, but doesn’t fight her on it and gives in. They lay there for a while. He dozes off and she seems content to just cuddle. 


	33. SETTING THE TRAP: ( Part 2-The Phone Call)

Chapter 33   
SETTING THE TRAP: ( Part 2-The Phone Call)

  
“Ok, Dan,” Joe says as he walks into the motel room. “I called Henry & Bo and let them know what was going on. Called the other Sheriffs in the area and told them to meet us at the Jail for around noon. I tried to get ahold of the ND Sheriffs but no one was answering, I guess they had gone home already. Henry said he would call them in the morning and fill them in on the cases.”  


Dan looks up from reading Jack’s account of what all happened. “Good. Take a look at this Joe! The kid wrote everything down from the beginning straight up till now, in order, including more details than I thought possible to remember after 10 years! It’s amazing!”

“That’s because I have a photographic memory.” They hear Jack say as he walks out of the bathroom with water dripping from his hair and a towel around his waist. He had a second towel in his hands and looks at them for a moment then rubs his head with the towel to dry off his hair. “My brother doesn’t know about it and I would prefer he not be told unless it’s absolutely necessary.” He adds. 

Dan and Joe look at him dumbfounded. “Wow! Lucky you!” Joe says, a little jealous. 

“No, not really. I actually find it annoying. I can’t forget much and somethings that I’ve seen, I wish I could forget!” Jack says as he sits down on the bed and starts to pull socks and underwear out of the suitcase. He grabs the rest of the clothes and goes back into the bathroom to get dressed. 

“So what bit of info are you going to let him share with his brother to use as bait?” Joe asks Dan. 

Dan stands and starts to pace the floor, thinking about everything. His hand rubbing his scruffy beard. “Not sure yet. I don’t want him coming into town quite yet until we have met with the Sheriffs tomorrow.” Jack comes back out of the bathroom dressed and walks over to the desk and sits down. “I think that would be wise, Sir.”

He says to Dan as he watches Dan pace the floor. “I could just tell him that I got the layout of the town figured out. Where the Sheriff’s office is, the hospital, the clinic, and that I saw you two. He doesn’t have to know we talked. But he is going to be more likely to stay away for now if he knows you two and a retired Sheriff are here.” Dan looks at Joe and Joe nods. “That might work.” Joe says. 

“Jack, you have my permission to tell your brother that you heard someone talking at the diner, lets say, that a woman matching your Ruth’s description was found and brought to a hospital in the area and that you heard the person say that the baby she carried died from the wounds the woman received. But the person didn’t say where the woman was brought. OK?” he says looking at Jack with a very serious expression. “That will give him a bit of what he already knows and a bit of new info to muddle over.

Tell him you want to stay here and snoop around some more and see if you can hear any other news and find out anything else about the woman’s whereabouts. Get a phone number of where you can reach him if you hear anything.”  
Jack nods. “Ok Sir, whatever you say.” Just then the phone rings. The three men look at each other and Dan comes and sits next to Jack so they can both hear the conversation through the phone receiver. Dan nods to Jack and Jack picks up the phone.

“Hello?”   
“Hey. You doing ok little brother?” he hears his brother ask. “Yeah. I’m fine. You?” He asks his big brother. 

Ed sighs, “It’s been a frustrating day. No one has heard anything or seen anything here. I might go try one of the other towns close by. Did you hear or see anything?” Jack looks over at Dan with a questioning look. Dan nods. 

Jack says, “I went back to that diner we ate at and had supper there after wandering around and getting the layout of the town. Heard some people talking and one mentioned a woman matching Ruth’s description. That she had been found and brought to a hospital in the area. The person said that they heard the woman lost the baby she was pregnant with.” He shares.   
Ed groans, “Ugh, did the person say which hospital the woman was brought to?” Jack looks at Dan, who shakes his head,’no’. “Sorry, Ed, the person didn’t say.” There was silence on the line for a few minutes. “Well, they’ll most likely have to bury the kid in a cemetery soon, so I guess we can start keeping an eye on the local cemeteries to see if there’s any new small baby sized graves dug. That might help us narrow it down to one town.” 

Jack looks at Joe, then at Dan. “Ok. I could stay here and keep an eye and ear out for anything if that’s ok with you?” Jack offers.   
“Ok, keep an eye out for those lawmen too. See if you can figure out their routines so we know when and where to expect them. I don’t like having another encounter with sheriffs like we had at the Pussycat’s. ok?” Ed tells him.   
“Ok Ed. Hey, how am I supposed to get ahold of you if I find anything out?” Jack asks him.   
“I’ll call you at this number again tomorrow night same time.” Ed replies. Jack looks at Dan. Dan nods. “Ok Ed.”   
“Goodnight little brother, get some sleep and don’t do anything stupid to get yourself caught by the lawmen there.” Ed says. 

Dan, Joe and Jack smirk. “Same to you big brother. Talk to you tomorrow.”  
They both hang up and Dan smiles. “Bo was right, I’m glad we didn’t have little Jack buried in the town’s cemetery.”   
Joe nods. “Who is this Bo you keep mentioning?” Jack asks.   
“He’s one of the Doctors in town. He started the hospital and clinic here several years ago. Now, let’s get you over to the jail for the night so we can all get some sleep and know you’re safe.” Dan explains.

Jack sighs. “Whatever you want Sir.” He stands and walks over to the bathroom and picks up his damp clothes that he had washed out in the sink, wrung out and hung on the shower curtain rod. He rolls them up and wraps them in a towel. “Is it ok if I borrow the towel to wrap up the clothes I washed, so my wet clothes don’t get my other set of clothes wet in my suitcase? I promise to return it tomorrow when we come back for the phone call.”   
Dan smiles, “Yes, you can take it with you to the jail. We’ll hang the clothes up in front of the fireplace for you so they dry by morning.” Dan says. Jack thanks him and carefully puts the damp bundle in his suitcase. He closes it and says, “Ok, Sirs, I’m ready to go.” 

They head out and Jack locks the door. He hands the keys to Dan and the three of them walk over to the jail a few blocks away. It’s about 10 pm now and the streets are quiet. Jack pauses and looks up at all the stars.   
“Joe notices he stopped and glances up to see what he is looking at. “What’re ya lookin’ at young man?” he asks. “The stars. I can see so many more of them out here than we could back home. I never took the time to appreciate them until we were on the run. It amazes me that wherever we go I could always find the same constellations regardless of what state we were in.” Joe grins and looks over at Dan.

“Jack, have you ever seen the Northern Lights?” Dan asks him. Jack looks down and over to Dan. “A few times. We had a good view to the north out our bedroom window. I remember seeing them dancing around in the sky on a few occasions. They always looked like green ribbons swirling around in the sky there.”   
“We get them here occasionally. The cell we’ll put you in faces north. So maybe you’ll get lucky and see them one of these nights.” Jack sighs and nods as he looks down at his feet. 

“Sir, my brother reserved that motel room for only three nights; and it needs to be paid for by 5pm the day after tomorrow. I don’t have enough cash left to pay for it. By brother has most of it with him.”   
Dan tells him not to worry about it. That they know the owner and will work something out so they can use it as a contact point with Ed for as long as they need. Jack thanks him and Dan starts walking again and Joe and Jack follow him.   


They get Jack settled in the Jail for the night, Dan tells Joe he gets to stay and supervise for the night. Joe chuckles and shoos Dan out the door. Jack hands him the damp roll of clothes wrapped in the towel and Joe goes and hangs them all over the fireplace grate so they can dry. “Try and get some sleep, Jack. You’re probably going to have an exhausting day being interrogated by those Sheriffs, and I’m sure once the ND ones hear we have you, they will want to talk to you as well.” Jack nods and sits down on the bed in his cell.   


“Joe, Sir, do you think Sheriff Dan would let me look around town once he verifies my story? I don’t like lying to my brother, or anyone for that matter. I would need to go look around in the cemetery and just wander around town in case my brother shows up here to check on me, which he most likely will do one of these days. If he doesn’t see me around, he will get nervous and start looking for me too. He won’t be too happy if he finds me locked up in here. I promise I would stay within yours or Dan’s sight. Just don’t make it look obvious that you’re there to keep an eye on me.” 

“We’ll have to see what Dan says, Jack. That’s his choice, not mine, to make. Get some rest now.” Joe says as he sits down and props his feet up on the desk. He picks up his hat off the desk and puts it over his face to block out the light from the fire.

**********

Meanwhile, Dan walks over to his place. Sophie is sitting on the deck in front, stargazing through a telescope. She sees him coming and stands to greet him as he comes up onto the deck. “So? What happened?” she asks. He chuckles and wraps her in his arms, dips her and gives her a sensuous kiss. He lingers and enjoys the taste of hot chocolate in her mouth as they wrestle with their tongues for dominance. He suddenly tilts her back upright and swings her around in a circle. 

“I still can’t believe he just walked up to us like that and turned himself in and offered to help us, Soph! The kid has a photographic memory and says he forgets very little. He completely filled two full legal size notepads front and back of each page with detailed information starting with when his brother basically kidnaps him and tricks him into being a getaway driver for a bank robbery straight through till he walks up to us in the diner!” Dan exclaims. “We let him have his 9pm call with his brother, and they talked for a bit and then the older brother said he would call the same time tomorrow night at that number.” Didn’t learn much from that phone call other than that he is going to check another town nearby, he didn’t say which one, and that they would start checking the cemeteries for new baby size graves.” Dan shared. 

“Dan, why did he say they should start checking for new babies’ graves?” Sophie asked, confused. “We needed to give him a nugget to string him along to give us time to come up with a plan, so I let Jack tell him that, Yes, a woman matching Sunshine’s description was found and that someone had heard she had lost the baby. I figured it would let him know we had another death to pin on him and it would give him something to look for now for a few days. He’ll not find anything in the local cemeteries, obviously since Bo buried the baby at his family’s plot on private property.” Dan explains. 

“Ah… thank God Bo thought of that ahead of time and didn’t let us bury the baby in the town’s cemetery like Joe wanted to do!” Sophie exclaims. Dan nods. “Come on, Hun, let’s go to sleep. It’s been a long day, and we are going to have another long one tomorrow. 

“Dan? I talked to the Carltons and they said we can take the dog anytime to see Bo. They said they will have all the dog’s stuff packed in a crate and will leave it on the porch next to the doghouse.” Dan nods.

“Either Joe or I need to take the notepads and go out to see Bo and Sunshine tomorrow and hopefully Sunshine is able to verify the young man’s story. We can take the dog with us tomorrow if you can go get it in the morning and bring him over to the jail. We’re meeting at noon to try to come up with a plan to trap this older brother.” Sophie nods. And they head up to bed. 


	34. JACK IN JAIL

Chapter 34   
JACK IN JAIL

  
The next morning everyone wakes up and heads over to the Jail. Dan makes Joe go clean the mud out of the truck; then he and Joe chat with Jack, whom they let out of the jail cell so they could have breakfast at the desk and start to come up with a list of ideas for trapping Ed. Sophie arrives with the Dog, who is following her happily with his tongue lollying out the side of his mouth. Dan chuckles when he sees them. The dog is looking up admiringly at Sophie and it almost looks like the dog is grinning. They walk in and she sets the Crate of the dog’s stuff by the door. 

“Hey Zeus!” Joe says and the dog looks over and comes bounding over to him whipping his tail from side to side. “Sit, boy!” Joe commands. Zeus sits. “Good boy!!! Now Shake!” Zeus stand up and shakes his whole body like a wet dog. Everyone breaks out laughing. “Not THAT kind of shake silly!” Joe guffaws. “Silly dog.”  


He holds his fingers like a gun and points it at the dog, “Bang” Zeus falls over and lays still, playing dead. “Good boy!!!!” Joe praises him. Zeus pops back up and sits as Joe lavishes attention and praise on him while petting the dog and rubbing the scruff of Zeus’ neck. 

“Wow! Did you teach him all those tricks?” Jack asks. “Naah, we know the family that he had belonged to. They have to move now to another state though and can’t take him with them, so we’re helping to find him a new home.” 

Jack eyes the dog warily. 

“Don’t you like dogs?” Joe asks. 

“I’ve never had any good experiences with them, I guess. Usually am being chased by them lately.” Jack replies. 

Joe gets up and Zeus follows him. Joe squats down by Jack and tells Jack to slowly hold his hand out, palm up for the dog to smell. Jack isn’t too sure. But hesitantly holds out his hand.   
Joe says, “Zeus, this is Jack. He is helping us, so you have to be nice to him, OK?” Zeus looks from Jack to Joe and then stand up and sniffs Jack’s hand. He nuzzles it for a minute then licks it and sits back down. Jack looks at Joe unsure what to do. “You can pet him now if you like. He won’t hurt you unless we give him the command to attack. He was the guard dog for one of the bank tellers here. The man took him to work every day and the dog got to know everyone who was supposed to be in town and knew when people were strangers or had bad intentions. He has successfully stopped several attempted bank robberies and is incredibly smart.”

Jack’s eyes get huge and he isn’t sure he wants to pet this dog. “It looks like a huge wolf!” he says, feeling uneasy. 

Sophie chuckles. “That’s because he’s a Belgian Malinois-Siberian Husky mix. Aren’t you Zeus!” She says, squatting down and smushing the dog’s face in her hands. He thumps his tail happily and tries to lick her face. She lets go of the dog’s head and stands up again. 

He looks over at Jack and stands up. He walks over to Jack, looks at him and tilts his head as if considering something, then plops his chin on Jack’s knee and just waits. Jack is surprised and doesn’t know what to do. He looks at everyone, who are just looking at them and chuckling. 

“He’s waiting to be petted, Jack.” Dan says. “He isn’t going to move till you pet him” 

Jack eyes the dog warily and gingerly reaches out his hand to pet the dog’s head. He is surprised by how soft the fur is and starts to scratch the dog like he saw Joe do around the collar. The dog’s hind foot starts thumping on the floor and they all start laughing. 

“Looks like you found his itchy spot.” Sophie giggles. Jack looks down and stops scratching. The dog whimpers and nudges his hand wanting more scratches. They all giggle again. 

Jack stands up carefully and stretches. He walks over to his clothes to see if they are dry and then picks them all up and takes them back to his cell and starts to fold them neatly and placing them back into his suitcase. When he finishes, he sits there and then asks Dan, “So what is the plan for today? I was wondering if I might be able to go look at the cemetery and spend some time outside just wandering around. I suspect my brother might ‘check up on me’ at some point in the next few days and if he finds me stuck in here, he won’t be too happy. I did tell him I would check the cemetery here and wander around listening for any info on the woman. I know you said the baby wasn’t buried in the cemetery, but I’d at least like to look so I can honestly tell my brother that I did check it out and did check out around town.”

Dan rubs his chin. “Hmm, we’re meeting with the Sheriffs at noon. It’s 9:30am right now. I need Joe to take Zeus and the notepads you wrote on to my informant to verify your story before I can go let you wander around. Maybe this afternoon you’ll be able to wander for a while as long as you stay within one of our sites, if you wander out of our sight tho, the deal will be off and you will be locked back up in here and won’t be let out till the trial. Got it?” “Yes, Sir, I understand. I will do whatever you want.” We gotta go now for a few minutes. I need to get some stuff loaded in the truck for Joe to take to the informant. I’m gonna lock you back in your cell for a while. We’ll be back in after a few minutes.

Jack nods and lays down. Dan closes and locks the cell door.

Dan & Joe & Sophie head out the door and Joe picks up the crated dog supplies and places it in the back of his truck. He opens the passenger side door and says, “Come on Zeus, lets go for a ride!” Zeus wags his tail and jumps in. Joe closes the door and turns to Dan. Dan hands him the manila envelope containing the notepads. “Make sure you have her sign the last page beneath Jack’s signature if she agrees with everything he wrote. If she has anything else to add or if she disagrees with something he wrote, have her make a note in the margins and initial it.” Joe nods. 

“Dan, can I go with to see Sunshine?” Sophie asks. Dan nods and gives her a kiss. “Sure doll, you can go see her. I’m sure she will be excited to see you.”

“Oh, shoot! Dan, I gotta go get my hat and smokeglasses, this sun is killing me! Soph, can you stay here with Zeus while I run in?” Joe asks. She nods.

“See ya when you get back Sweetheart!” Dan says as they head back up the steps. 

When they get to the door they hear the phone start ringing. Dan rushes over to the desk and answers it. “Jailhouse, this is Sheriff Dan, what can I do for you?” Joe pauses at the door, waiting to see who it is. “Joe, go bring Jack over here, there’s someone on the phone who needs to talk to him about Ruth!” Jack bolts upright and almost leaps to the door of the cell, Joe crosses the gap between the door and the jailcell in a few long strides and unlocks the door, letting Jack out. Jack quickly approaches the desk and Dan nods to him to sit down.

He hands the phone to Jack. And Jack hesitantly says, “Hello?” He listens as Henry explains who he is and what has happened.  
Jack sits there for a minute in stunned silence as he listens to Henry explain what happened to Ruth, whom he calls, Sunshine. He sighs. He tells Henry what happened, that they had snuck out to go to the dance and have some fun for once and that his older brother was passed out in the bed in the motel. After they had been gone a couple hours dancing, they heard him bellowing and knew he was furious that they had left and gone out in public. Ed had stormed over to them and made a huge scene about how he was trying to “steal his woman” and dragged her back to the motel and wouldn’t let his little brother near the motel for several hours after that. 

He relayed to Henry how when he was finally allowed to come back in the room, he found Sunshine unconscious and beaten badly. He explained that it took her a full three days to finally regain consciousness and she wouldn’t talk to him for a while after that. Jack explained that the only way he could ever get her out of those regressions was to just lay down next to her, hold her and talk to her about anything other than what happened. 

Jack explained that sometimes she pulled out of it quickly, other times it took her several days. There was no way to be sure how long it would take. He asked Henry to please give her a hug from him and to tell her he was sorry for all this mess they ended up in, and that he was incredibly sorry for all the pain they had caused her.

Henry sighed and thanked Jack for the information. Jack thanked Henry for calling and told him to call if he had any other questions regarding Ruth’s experiences or recovery.

Jack hands the phone back to Dan and puts his head in his hands and rests his elbows on his knees. “Everything ok?” Joe asks as he stands at the door of the cell.  
“No, Ruth went catatonic after she had a particularly bad flashback. They can’t get her to respond to anything not even pain. The man said he would call and let us know if they got her to come out of it. I guess it scared them pretty bad.” Jack explained sadly.

“Dan, do you still want me to go out there to see if she can confirm what he wrote down?” Dan thinks for a bit. Go ahead and go, Joe, at least you can deliver the dog. Maybe the dog can pull her out of it, or maybe Sophie can. She was always good at getting a response from the woman when no one else could.” Joe nods and heads out the door. 

Dan and Jack sit for the next few hours talking about Ed and what triggers him and how he thinks. They come up with some options, but unfortunately most of them involve using Ruth as bait to get him to come into the area they want. The other sheriffs arrive and they spend the afternoon interrogating Jack and working together to come up with some options that don’t involve using Ruth as direct bait.

After the other Sheriffs leave, Dan asks Jack if he’d like to go for a walk. Jack nods. “Ok, go back in your cell for a bit and I’m going to head out the back door and over to my place to change out of my uniform into some regular clothing. I know you said you were nervous to be seen with us in uniform, so we’ll do this in plain clothes, ok?” Jack nods and goes into his cell and pulls the door shut. Dan checks it to make sure it locked and tells Jack he will be right back. 

Dan heads out the back door and down the alley several houses down until he gets to his place. He goes in the back door and up to their room to change out of his uniform. He puts some plain clothes on and then pins his sheriff badge to his shirt under the vest. He puts his guns back in the holster and then puts his jacket on to hide the holstered guns. He grabs a hat and heads back the way he came. 

He enters the jail through the back door and finds Jack sitting on his bed looking at a magazine Joe had given him that morning to read. He looks up at Dan and nods. “Don’t think I would’ve recognized you out of your uniform, Sir.”   
Dan chuckles. “Come on. I’ll show you around a bit and you can check out the cemetery.”

Dan walks over and unlocks the cell. “Remember the deal, you leave my sight or try to run, our deal is off and you spend the rest of your time in that jail cell and will stand trial with your brother. I may be in plain clothes, but I’m still armed and am still on duty as the sheriff.” He shows Jack the guns and the badge hidden under his jacket and vest. Jack nods. “I remember and understand, Sir. I won’t go running.” 

Dan leads him out the back door and they start walking. Dan shows him around town and they stop in a few shops that Jack asks if they can go into. Jack is polite and buys a few things from some of the stores. He is enjoying the time outside and they head over to the cemetery. Dan tells Jack he will wait by the gate and to feel free to look at the graves, but to stay within his line of sight. Jack nods and thanks him. Jack spends some time wandering around in the cemetery and looks at all the gravestones. Some are quite recent, and some quite old. After about a half hour, he comes wandering back to the gate. Dan looks up and asks if he found anything interesting. “A few neat headstones with engravings on them and some really old ones, but other than that, no. Thanks for letting me look though.”

They walk around some more and Jack shares a little about where they grew up and about their parents. “So, what did you want to do with your life before your brother took it over?” Dan asked him. “I wanted to be a businessman.” Jack said. “I had hoped to run a general store or work in my friend’s dad’s automobile sales business. I enjoy tinkering too and thought about being a mechanic and having my own shop for a while. Wasn’t set in stone though. I was open to possibilities.” Dan nods. 

“We could use a good mechanic in this town. Lots of people have automobiles now, but not many know how to maintain them properly. Did ya have a dame, before all this running from the law started?” Dan asked Jack. Jack shook his head. “No, lots of dames wanted to date me and get me in their beds, but I hadn’t found one who wanted to settle down and have a family. 

My parents wanted us to stay on the farm and one day take over but neither of us was interested in that. Ed wanted to ranch cattle, and I wanted city life. They would be very disappointed in us if they knew how things have turned out.” He says, hanging his head and digging his toe in the dirt by the sidewalk where they had paused walking. 

“Do they know what caused the fire? The one that killed your folks?” Dan inquired. “Yeah, Dad fell asleep in bed smoking and the cigarette started the bed on fire. Ma was in the bathroom at the time. There was so much smoke that she got disoriented and succumbed in the hallway from smoke inhalation.” Jack quietly says, remembering that day. 

“Ed and I were having a sleepover in the barn with some friends when we saw the flames. Ed ran in to try to get Ma, but he couldn’t see or breathe and had to come back out. We lost everything that night.” Jack whispers. “Not everything, son, you had your lives. Things can be replaced, but life can not. I’m sorry you lost your folks, though. Were you close to them?” Dan states.   
“Dad was abusive verbally. He was a belligerent man, which is where I think Ed picked a lot of it up from. I was more like Ma. She loved to tinker and bake and cook and was always making or fixing something. She could fix almost any household item we had that would break.” Jack chuckled. 

“Well, we better get you back so we can get some grub before heading back over to the motel for that phone call.” Dan says as he starts to walk in the direction of the Jail. Jack follows alongside him. “Thanks again, Sir, for being nice to me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I do appreciate it.” Jack says quietly. 

Dan just nods and keeps walking. “What do you want for supper? I’m going to get something from Louie’s once I get you back in that cell.” Dan asks as they walk up the steps to the jail.   
“Could I have some of that chili and biscuits? The regular chili was wonderful the last time I had it!” Joe exclaimed. Dan chuckled.   
“Sure thing kid. Get in there and I’ll be back in a while.” Dan says as he points over to the jail cell. Jack nods and heads over. He walks into the cell and sits down on his bed. Dan closes the door, making sure it is locked and then heads off to Louie’s to get food for them.


	35. ZEUS AND COMPANY

Chapter 35   
ZEUS AND COMPANY

  
Sunshine laid on her side, holding Bo’s hand feeling quite content and safe. The flashback had absolutely terrified her earlier that morning and she remembered how mad at Jack she was when it had happened in real life. He had talked her into going out to the street dance that the town was having. They had hoped to be able to escape from Ed that night and slip away while he was passed out, but they had lost track of the time and gotten engrossed in the dancing. 

When Peg had mentioned Dan and Sophie meeting at a street dance, the one she and Jack had gone to came flashing back swift and hard. She didn’t even know what had hit her. 

She vaguely remembered hearing Boaz’s voice calling out to her to come back, but she was so lost in the flashback, that she thought it was Ed when he had been calling for her as he stormed through the crowd. She had never been so terrified and embarrassed in all her life like she was when he found them and made a huge scene. 

Luckily for him, the cops couldn’t reach them in time to find out what was going on due to the crowded streets. The beating and rape he gave her when they got back though she will never forget. She thought she would die from his fists hitting her on the outside and his dick pounding into her from the inside. She remembered her crotch hurting so bad she couldn’t sit up for three days. She just laid in the bed in and out of consciousness, Jack holding her head or spooning her and murmuring into her ear his apologies. That was the only time they tried to escape together. After that he only talked of helping her escape and made her promise to put a good word in for him with the lawmen when she found them and could tell her account. 

Her promise! She had completely forgotten about it until now! She tried to sit up and cried out in pain, startling Bo who shot up in the bed next to her. He gently helped her lay back down and shushed her and held her and let her cry.   
Finally, he got up and went and got her some water to drink from the pitcher on the nightstand. Pouring it into her empty teacup. He helped her sit up and let her drink as much as she wanted. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, completely naked. Her body still ached from all the injuries, and she just felt off for some reason. He was squatting down in front of her looking at her with his dreamy sapphire blue eyes, full of concern. She looked at him over the rim of her cup and blushed. 

“Damn he was so handsome! She realized he had no shirt on, just his sleep pants, and she could see where she had left a red mark on his chest where her head had been resting. She hesitantly reached out and touched it ever so gently. She felt his muscles tremble slightly at her touch. She lifted her fingers and looked up into his eyes. 

He gently grabbed her hand and kissed the knuckles of it, gave her a little smirk and happily said, “We should probably get you dressed. You get to have some company today!” Confused, she looked at him and blinked several times. “Who the heck would want to visit me???” She wondered as she watched him move around her room. He brought a bowl of water over to her with a washcloth, towel and lavender soap. He set them down on the nightstand next to her. 

“Do you want me to wash you up, or would you like to do it, or do you want Peg to help you?” she shrugged. He had already seen her naked several times she guessed, heck, she was sitting there naked in front of him now and she didn’t think he even noticed it!

She wondered what she looked like now. She was always careful to avoid mirrors because she hated how she looked with the bruises and wounds she constantly had from Ed’s beatings. She looked around the room but only saw a mirror at the vanity, which she had no way to get to. She looked down at her body. She saw bruises on her breasts that looked like Ed’s hands, they were fading, but still visible, she could see a couple of fading bruises on her belly that looked like boot prints, she had all kinds of bruises and scrapes on her arms and legs, casts on her right arm and leg… she was a broken, mess. She gave a shallow sigh.   


Bo noticed her looking at her body and her small sigh. He squats back down in front of her and gently places his hand under her chin and lifts it. “Sweetheart, will you look at me?” he gently asks her. She tilts her eyes up unsure what he wants. “I know you probably feel like a broken mess, am I right?” She nods. “That is to be expected. You have been through hell. Yes, your body has been beaten and broken, but don’t let that pull you into despair, ok? It will heal. It will take time, and I will need you to be patient with the whole process. 

Just remember, you have a lot of life left to live and have people who care about you, and want to see you back at 100% not only physically but also emotionally, spiritually and mentally. Your motto for now is going to be: “Bent, but not broken”, ok? You’re alive, you are beautiful, and you are a survivor. The scars you will have will be a testament to that …and never ever be ashamed of them! They are your battle scars and you are an amazing warrior to have fought through this hell he put you through and have survived! OK?” 

She looks into his Sapphire eyes and tears well up in her own. She closes her eyes and drops her head, feeling overwhelmed at his words. He kneels down from his squatting position and leans forward. He carefully pulls her towards him and gives her a gentle hug. “Shhhh, it’s ok. I know this is all overwhelming for you. Just know we are here and want to help you however we can.”

She nods. He holds her like that, one hand gently holding the back of her head, and the other gently resting on her waist, being careful not to touch her back’s wounds. When she finally calms herself, he lets her go. “Now, do you want me to wash your face and neck?” he asks her again. She nods.   
He reaches over and grabs the bowl. “Think you can manage holding this for me on your lap with your good hand?” she nods. He places it in her lap and she hisses as the cold ceramic touches her bare legs and belly. He smirks, “Sorry, I guess we should’ve put a towel down first.” 

She shrugs. He dips the washcloth into the warm water and then wrings it out. He grabs the lavender soap and rubs it onto the washcloth. Then he reaches up and tells her to close her eyes and to tilt her head up. She obeys and he gently washes her face and neck and upper chest careful so the washcloth doesn’t catch the scabs along the edge of the road rash on her face, and is careful so the washcloth doesn’t catch the stitches on her upper shoulders when he washes the back of her neck.   
He tells her to keep her eyes closed and she can feel him rinsing out the washcloth in the basin on her lap. “Ok, I’m going to rinse you off now.” 

She nods. He rinses off her face, and neck and chest, rinsing the washcloth out a couple of times to make sure all the soap is off her. When he is done, he takes the bowl and puts it on the cabinet by the door. He comes back and she is dabbing her face and chest with the towel he had laid next to her. She looks up at him as he comes over to her with a clean hospital gown, bandages and the giant sheet they use to cover her back. She lets out a groan, knowing what he is going to do.   
He smirks. “Would you rather have the stitches catch on your housecoat and tear open?” he asks her with a raised eyebrow. She shakes her head, ‘no’. “Well then, we need to do this to protect the stitches and the edges of the scabs. They are starting to peel away from the new skin that is forming underneath. Now, let’s get you laid down on your belly so we can get your back and rear cleaned off. I’m going to put some ointment on the scabs to keep them soft and prevent infection.” She looks at him annoyed.

He chuckles, “I suppose if you were a cat, you’d be looking at me like that with your ears flat against your head and probably would hiss at me.” She grins and hisses like a cat.

He chuckles, “Are you going to scratch at me if I try to pick you up and put you on your belly?” he rumbles teasingly. 

Her eyes get huge and she shakes her head, ‘no’, and looks down. He leans down, pats the top of her head playfully, grins, and whispers into her ear, “Good kitty.”

She grins and brings her good arm up and wraps it around his neck, waiting for him to pick her up to position her to turn on her belly. He chuckles and does so. They both feel a spark zing down their spines when their chests touch each other. Both having forgotten that neither had a shirt on. 

He pauses for a moment after standing. Enjoying the feeling of her against him. She lets out a little sigh and plays with his hair on the back of his neck. He cant help but let out a small groan. She freezes and he feels her tense ever so slightly. 

“You sure like to tease me don’t you.” He whispers. She lets out a quiet giggle. He kneels on the bed and gently sets her down on her left side, so she can be turned on her belly. She whimpers as her body protests the movement. She bites her lip and holds her breath waiting for the pain to subside. Bo is still hovering over her and whispers in her ear, “Breathe, Sweetheart, Breathe, don’t bite your lip or it will bleed again.”

She looks up at him and he smiles and gently caresses her face and neck. “Let me know when the pain has passed, then I’ll turn you over.” She nods after a minute and he gently turns her to her belly. She hisses at the pain, but doesn’t cry out like before. He smiles. 

She takes a few shallow breaths to try to calm down and then nods. He tells her he will be right back. That he is going to go rinse out the basin and get some fresh water. She closes her eyes and nods. He covers her rear with the towel and pulls the blankets up a bit so she isn’t completely exposed.  
She lays there waiting for him to come back. She hears a cardinal outside the window. It sounded close. She turns her head to see if she can see it since it’s coming from the side window and not the one in front of her. She hisses when she lifts her head. The back muscles protest with pain but she tries to ignore it as she turns her head. She gets it turned and plops her head back onto the mattress, groaning when her cheek bone gets pressure on it that she wasn’t used to feeling. She realizes she can’t lay like this yet and tries to raise her head again. She whimpers at the pain again and quickly turns her head back. 

  
**********

Bo walked out of the bedroom with the basin of water. Peg looks up from the sofa and sees him standing there. “How is she, Bo? Did you get her out of that catatonic state?” He nods. “It took a while, but she is back now. We talked for a bit and I helped wash her face and neck and was just going to change out the water to do her back and rear.” Peg nods.   
“Could you help her bathe her more private areas? I think she’d be more comfortable if a woman helped her with that part right now. I thought she might like to feel cleaned up and sit in the wheelchair for a while. Maybe she could sit in the living room by the windows and watch the birds. I got a couple feeders I was going to hang up to try and attract them closer to the cabin today. 

Henry said either Dan or Joe might be by today to see if she would be willing to validate the younger brother’s story. I don’t know if this is such a good idea considering her mental state right now, but Dan needs to know if this young man is telling the truth or not and the only one who would know is Sunshine.”

Peggy frowns. “I think you’re right Bo. Maybe you should read it first to see if you can gauge how much this might set her back?” 

Bo thinks for a minute then nods. He starts to walk to the kitchen. Peg follows. He washes out the basin and refills it with warm water.

Peg says, “I’ll make something for her to eat since she missed breakfast. You want anything to eat?”   
Bo nods. “I’ll eat almost anything, Peg, you know that!”   
Peg chuckles. “Ok. Big guy, I’ll be in when the food is done.”   
He nods and heads back to the bedroom. 

He walks in and sees she has dozed off again into another deep sleep. He lets out a soft chuckle and gently sits down on the bed next to her. Reaching over he grabs the lavender soap and gets the clean washcloth wet and rubs the soap on it. He gently washes her back like before and rinses it off, then washes her butt cheeks and rinses them off. He was just starting to apply the ointment when Peg comes in. She sets the tray down on the vanity and walks over to them. “Sleeping again?” She chuckles. Bo looks up, smiles, and continues putting the ointment on her wounds. 

“They are healing up nice, aren’t they, Bo?” She asks indicating the whipping wounds. He nods. “Better than I had hoped they would. I wasn’t sure all the gashes would close properly. Many of them were so close together, there wasn’t much skin left to stitch with. But it’s looking pretty good. They will probably be quite sensitive for a while though, even after the stitches are removed. I’m concerned though about all the scar tissue limiting her mobility. I’m going to have to do some checking to see what the best option is for this kind of situation.” He laments. 

“Bo, I remember one of the nurses saying that her aunt had gotten severe burns on her back from a house fire she was in. They used massage therapy and lavender oil to soften the scar tissues, and it increased her range of motion back to normal. Maybe that would work for Sunshine too?!” “Hmmmm, I’ll have to look into that!” Bo replies. 

“Here, help me get the bandage back on her. I washed her upper chest above her breasts, so she just needs her arm pits and her breasts and belly washed, and her crotch and legs.”   
Peg nods. They quickly get the bandage on her and get her turned. She wakes up and whimpers as they work. Once they get her on her back, Bo excuses himself and lets Peg finish cleaning up the woman. 

Bo heads outside and over to the barn to find the crates of bird supplies that Joe had gotten for him. He prys a couple crates open and finds the feeders and feed. He takes them over to the window by the living room and decides to hang one up there just off the edge of the deck’s overhang. After he gets the hook installed, he fills the feeder and hangs it up. Then he walks down to the other end of the deck by the master bedroom’s window and goes to hang the other hook for the second feeder. 

He glances in and sees Peg has finished cleaning Sunshine and was helping her get dressed in the bathrobe since she had already gotten the gown on her and had her sitting on the edge of the bed. He smiles and goes back to installing the second feeder. He fills the feeder and hangs it up. As he hangs it, he sees a couple of chickadees land on the first one and check it out. He watches in fascination as they grab a single seed, hop down onto the railing of the deck, crack open the seed and eat it. Then they fly back up to the feeder and do it all over again. He grins and can’t wait to show Sunshine. 

His stomach growls and he chuckles. He walks back to the barn to close up the crates so critters can’t get into it and raid the seed. Then puts his tools back in their places and heads back in. He goes to the bathroom and washes up then heads for the master bedroom. 

Just as he walks in, Peg is picking up the tray of the food she had prepared. She lifts the lids on the plates and reveals scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon and toast for him, plain scrambled eggs and some yoghurt and apricot slices for Sunshine and peppermint tea and coffee for them to drink. 

“Smells good, Peg!” He says. Sunshine’s tummy grumbles in agreement and they all chuckle. Bo sits on the foot end of the bed facing Sunshine and takes the plate of food from Peg. She hands Sunshine her food and places the tray between them with their tea and coffee on it. They quietly eat and enjoy the sounds of the birds chirping outside. 

Suddenly a Cardinal makes it’s presence known right outside the window. Sunshine looks over and lets out a little squeal and points to the window. Peg and Bo look out to see it sitting on the feeder eating its brunch too. They both chuckle. “I thought you might like having the feeders by the windows so you could watch the birds a little closer.” Bo explains.

He is delighted to see how excited Sunshine is. She keeps looking out the window in excitement and forgets to eat. Bo laughs and tells her to hurry up and eat and he will wheel her over to the living room window to watch them from there. Her eyes get huge and she quickly eats her food and drinks her tea. 

As promised, Bo carries her to the wheelchair and then grabs her soft blanket and puts it on her lap. Then he wheels her out into the living room’s sunshine and parks her by the window. He sits nearby in the wingback chair and looks at the bird book he had gotten her. He glances up over the top of the book watching her. Her hair is glowing with a reddish halo and her bruises are starting to lighten around her cheek. The road rash has scabbed over and looks kind of dry. He is awestruck at the sight of her happiness and radiant glow. He makes a mental note to put some ointment on the road rash on her face after a while to keep it from drying out and cracking. 

Suddenly they hear a vehicle coming. He gets up and pulls the curtain closed. Sunshine looks up at him confused. “Just in case its someone we don’t want to be here…we have to be careful now.” he whispers and kisses her head. He moves to the door and cracks it open to peek out. Just then the truck comes into view and he realizes it is Joe. He heaves a sigh of relief, closes the door and walks back over to Sunshine and opens the curtains again.  


“It’s Joe. You remember him, right?” she nods. He wants to talk to you about the younger brother’s account of what happened when you were with them. Will you be all right with reading it and letting us know if he is telling the truth? It has a lot of details in it from what Dan said and I don’t want it causing you to withdraw again, Sweetheart. You’re making good progress, and I’d hate to see it get reversed by this.” She nods. "If it starts to get to be too much for you, just stop and put it down. Ok?” She nods.

Just then, they hear a knock at the door. Peg comes out of the bedroom and looks at Bo. He nods and she opens it. A big fluffy grey dog comes bounding in and nearly tackles Peg. Joe is belly laughing and so is Sophie as they come in. The dog is clearly excited to see everyone and comes trotting over to see Bo and Sunshine. Bo squats down and holds out his hand to the dog, chortling at it’s antics. The dog sniffs Bo’s hand, and gives it a lick. Bo pats it’s head and gives it a scratch along it’s collar. The dog’s hind leg starts thumpin’ when he hits a particularly itchy spot and it makes Sunshine giggle so hard she is holding her ribs and has tears rolling down her cheeks, but she is smiling happily at it’s antics too.

Bo finally stops scratching the dog and stands up smiling. The dog trots over to Sunshine and sits looking at her for a minute then carefully gets up on his hind legs, and rests his front paws on the arm of the wheelchair. He looks up at her and lets out a little whine and then nuzzles her face and starts licking it. This sets her off in another fit of giggles and she tries to push him away. He sits back down and then walks round to the front of the wheel chair and plops his head on her lap, whining and wagging his tail. She finally stops giggling and has to take a few breaths to calm down and then smiles at the dog and reaches out her hand for him to smell. He starts licking it and it sets her off in yet another fit of giggles.

Bo, Peg, Joe and Soph just stand there and watch in amazement. All of them surprised to see her giggling and smiling so much. “Awww.” Joe softly says. “Now ain’t that just the cutest picture you ever saw!”   
Sophie chuckles. “It’s nice to see her smiling and not grimacing from the pain. When was she able to open her right eye, Bo?” she asks quietly. “Was it last night or this morning, Peg? I forget now. The days have kind of blended together for me. We haven’t had a solid night’s sleep yet since we found her.” He teases. “I believe it was last night, Bo.” She says. 

Just then, Henry comes in the back door and hears Sunshine’s giggles and the dog’s whimpers as they play together. He comes walking into the entry way and stands there with the others.   
“Ahhh, so you brought the great Zeus to meet her! I take it they hit it off right away?” he comments, chuckling at the dog’s antics. “Yup.” Says Joe grinning from ear to ear. 

He moves into the living room and gives a short, crisp whistle. Zeus turns his head and looks over at Joe standing in the middle of the living room. “Come here boy!” he says. Zeus immediately comes over and sits in front of him. “Good boy!” he says, giving the dog a head rub. “Sunshine, this is Zeus. He does tricks and is very well trained. He was taught with voice commands, though, so you’re going to have to work with him to re-train him with gestures, since you haven’t spoken much. He is very smart and will figure them out in no time. I’m sure Bo can help you train him.” He informs Sunshine.  


"He has been trained to be both a family pet and a guard dog by a man who worked in a bank here in town. So, if you ever feel threatened, he will sense it. He can also tell when someone has bad intentions. He has prevented at least two bank robberies and held criminals to the ground until we could get there to arrest them. So he will protect you well. But you need to know what to look for. You need to learn HIS sign language like he will learn yours, ok?” he informs her.

She nods at him wide-eyed.

“If he comes and stands either on your right side and leans on your leg, or directly in front of you facing away from you and you see this part of his fur rise up…” he says pointing to the dog’s heckles at it’s shoulders, “…that is how he warns you that someone is nearby whom he does not like / trust. He will growl as well, but it is usually very quiet and hard to hear at first until he gets really, really mad. He won’t attack unless you tell him to, but this is just to make you aware. Ok? If you DO let him attack, he won’t stop until you tell him “Zeus Stop!” at this the dog’s ears perked up and he looked at Joe, confused. Joe leans down and pets Zeus. The dog thumps his tail happily. 

He is a good dog, and if you take good care of him, he will do the same for you. Trust him and he won’t let you down. He knows the sound of my truck, Dan’s and also Henry’s. He will soon learn to recognize the sound of Bo’s truck as well. So, he shouldn’t bark when he hears them. He also knows all of us here including Dan. So, he also shouldn’t bark when we come to see you. If he ever hears something or someone he doesn’t recognize as belonging in his “pack” or family, he will issue a few warning barks or he will growl. Pay attention when he does that. You and all of us here as well as Dan, he considers his “pack” or family. He will protect any of us if he feels we are threatened; and any of us can give him the commands and he will obey them.

Peg and Henry got him for you, so he is their gift to you. Soph and I just picked him up and are delivering him to you for them.

Sunshine looks over at Peg and Henry and motions her hand sign for ‘thank you’ to them, then she looks down at Zeus.

She pats her leg and motions for him to come. Joe bends down and gives the dog a nudge to go towards her. Zeus looks confused for a minute. Till Henry walks over and squats down by Sunshine. He makes the same motion Sunshine did and says, “Come here, Zeus!” the dog comes over and sits in front of Henry and Henry pats his head, “Good boy!” Sunshine pats her leg and motions for Zeus to come over. He looks at her and then at Henry. Joe sees the confusion and pats his leg to get the dog’s attention. Zeus turns to face Joe and Joe makes the same motion Sunshine did indicating come. He makes the motion and says, “Come Zeus” and then makes the motion again. Zeus comes over to him and sits. “Good boy!” 

Sunshine smiles. And tries again to get him to come. She pats her leg to get his attention, he looks at her and she makes the ‘come’ motion and he walks over to her and sits in front of her with his head cocked to the side.

She tries to reach down to pet him, but it pulls on her back and she groans. Zeus whimpers and carefully puts his front paws on her lap and stands so she can pet his head.   
“See, Sunshine! He can already sense what you need! And you already taught him to come to you!” Bo says, smiling. Sunshine gives him a big smile and a tear rolls down her cheek. Zeus stands up more, whimpers, and reaches his head forward wanting to lick it off her face. She leans forward a little bit and lets him lick it off. She giggles and rubs his head. 

Bo thinks his heart is going to melt from all this cuteness and he just grins. Sunshine yawns and grimaces at the deep breath her body makes her take. She grabs her ribs from the pain. Zeus senses her pain and gently nuzzles her hand and whimpers quietly. She pets his head and takes some slow shallow breaths while waiting for the pain to pass.

She puts her hand in front of his nose and pushes gently until he backs off and then she flicks her fingers from vertical to horizontal, and he looks at her and sits. She grins and claps. She holds her hand back out palm facing down and then quickly turns it up and raises it slightly. He cocks his head and she makes the motion again. Henry whispers something in her ear and she nods. She makes the motion again and Henry says, “Zeus, up” and Zeus pops up gently, so his front paws are on her lap.

She claps and pets his head happily. She makes her motion for him to sit and he looks confused. Henry leans over and asks if that is the sign she wants for sit. She nods. She makes it again and Henry says, “Zeus Sit” and the dog does so. 


	36. CONFIRMING JACK’S ACCOUNT

Chapter 36   
CONFIRMING JACK’S ACCOUNT

  
While Henry helps Sunshine train Zeus with going from voice commands to hand commands, Joe turns and walks over to the rest of the group. “Bo can we go sit in the kitchen and talk. I don’t want to upset Sunshine with this yet.” Bo and Peg look at each other and Bo nods. They walk into the kitchen and Joe pulls out the envelope with the notepads in it. “Dan wants you and Peg to read them before letting Sunshine read them. Soph already read it on the way here.” Bo and Peg nod. 

They sit down at the kitchen table next to each other so they can read it at the same time. If one finished before the other, whoever was the last one reading would flip to the next page. They finish reading it about 20 minutes later. Both of them sit in disbelief at what they just read. Bo shakes his head, he is red faced with anger and his fists are clenched on the table. He says through gritted teeth, “I can’t even begin to fathom going through all that! No wonder why she isn’t talking and having flashbacks so much!” 

Peg just sits there, shaking her head, with tears rolling down her cheeks. Soph walks around and give her a hug.   
“We knew it was something horrible she experienced, but we didn’t think it was that bad! It’s truly a miracle she even survived any of it!” Soph says, tears running down her cheeks as well, and Peg nods.   
“We have Jack to thank for her being alive. He was the one who kept her going and protected her at night. Had he not been allowed to do that, she would not have survived.” Joe says quietly. 

“Bo, Dan needs her to read this and tell me if what Jack has written is the truth. He doesn’t know if he should be trusting this man or not and the only one who can confirm whether or not it is the truth is Sunshine.” Joe says to Bo.  
“Dan understands that this may set her back, Bo. And he wishes he didn’t have to ask her to, but we need her to do it. Time is running out and we need to trap this brother. Each day that goes by, he is getting more and more frustrated and desperate to find her. We have a few ideas for trapping him, but need the brother and Ruth as bait to get him to come.” Joe explains. 

Bo lets out a low growl as he rubs his forehead, and quietly says “She will NOT be used as bait to lure him anywhere! She has gone through ENOUGH!” as he slams his fist down on the table making everyone jump. Joe looks at him and backs away slightly. “I understand where you are coming from, Bo. But this might be our ONLY chance.” He says gently.

“NO!” booms Bo. “I won’t allow it, not in the state she is in!”, again slamming his fist down on the table. Peg reaches over cautiously, and puts her hand on Bo’s shoulder. “Bo, honey, calm down. Nothing is set in stone yet. Joe is just telling us what the sheriffs have been talking about. I’m sure they can find a way of trapping him without actually using her as physical bait.”

Bo grumbles, “Well, they had better find a way, cuz she isn’t going to be used as bait as long as I live.” Joe looks at Peg and Soph and frowns.   
“Bo, can I have your permission to ask her to look at this and tell me if what Jack wrote is the truth or not?”

Bo rubs his face and growls. “I don’t have much of a choice. Dan needs to know. If it gets to be too much for her though, she will need to stop reading it and Dan will have to wait till she is better able to handle it.” Bo warns.  
Joe nods, “Agreed.” 

They head back into the living room where Henry and Zeus and Sunshine are happily practicing the unspoken basic commands. Zeus has quickly learned them and is correctly doing them almost every time now. They look up when they see everyone entering. Bo and Peg and Soph try to smile, but Sunshine can tell something is wrong. She looks at Bo and he won’t meet her eyes. He just stares down at Zeus. She reaches down and snaps her fingers and Zeus comes and sits by her while she scratches his head and ears. 

Joe comes over by her and sits on the edge of the Sofa. “Sunshine, do you remember a young man named Jack? She nods. She looks up at Peg and motions she wants her book and pencils. Peg nods and goes to get them. She brings them over to Sunshine and Sunshine opens the book to the page where she drew the picture of the two brothers and her in the truck. She shows it to Joe. He looks at it and then at her. “Who drew this?” he asks her. 

She points to herself. “You drew this?” he asks surprised. She nods. He hands her the book back and she takes out a pencil. She writes Ed and draws an arrow to his picture, then writes Jack and draws an arrow to his picture. And then writes me and draws an arrow to her picture. He is speechless for a minute. “That looks exactly like him!” Joe says.

Joe shakes his head, “Anyway, getting back to the other reason why I’m here… Jack came up to us in the restaurant the night we brought you here, Sunshine, we had just gotten into town and stopped for supper. He offered to help us catch Ed if we agreed to not prosecute him and let him walk free. Dan asked him to write out everything that had happened from the beginning of this whole debacle up till now, with as much information and details as possible. Dan has the ND lawmen going to search for the caches of money Ed and Jack buried that was stolen from the banks as well as looking for the graves of your first two babies. When they find them, they promised to give them proper burials.” He informs them. Sunshine’s eyes start to water, and she looks down into her lap. Zeus senses she is upset and comes around and noses her fingers and licks them. She pets him and he calms down. 

She looks up at Joe and motions, “Thank you” to him. 

He looks at her and holds up the notepads. He says, “Sweetheart, this is the account Jack wrote, and while the ND lawmen can verify some of the details, the only person who can verify the rest of it from the time they kidnapped you on till now is you. I know it might upset you, but Dan is asking you to please try to read through what Jack wrote and tell us if what he wrote is the truth or not. If there are parts that aren’t true, he wants you to cross it out, and make note of it in the margins and to write what is the truth.

He said if there is anything else you wish to add you can write it on some paper and sign it, and I can sign it as a witness, and we’ll add it to this account. Ok?”  
She looks up at his face and then over to Boaz. She can tell Bo is not happy about this. Then she looks up at Henry. He kneels down to her, places a hand on her shoulder gently and reminds her, “No one here wants to hurt you, Honey, and no one wants to have to ask you to do this. Yes, it will be hard to read through it and remember it all, but it may help your brain make sense of things and it will help us figure out if this Jack is trustworthy or not. If it gets to be too much for you, you can always let us know and can take a break from reading it and do something else for a while. But the more you can read and verify for Dan, the more it will help all three cases be solved. They are very close to catching him, Honey, and the more information we have that is trustworthy, the more solid the cases will be against him. Just remember, that you are safe here and there are plenty of people here who care about you, love you and are willing to protect you. Ok?”

Sunshine nods. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to read about everything that happened before they found you or not. If you do not want to read any of that, then start reading here…” He shows her the spot on the page, “but if you want to read everything starting at the beginning, then you can read from the first page.” She nods. And looks up at Bo. He is sitting in the wingback chair by the fireplace with his arms crossed against his chest, glaring daggers at Joe. She isn’t sure why he is so upset.   
She picks up her notebook and writes: _Henry, will you ask everyone to go do something else while I read? I just want Bo and Zeus here with me. I will send Bo to get you all when I am done._ She gets Henry’s attention by tugging on his shirt and shows him the note. He nods. 

“Ok, everyone but Bo and Zeus needs to leave and find something else to do while Sunshine reads this little manifesto. Come on now, skedaddle! Shoo!” Henry says as he stands up. Bo looks up at her and gets up. He walks over to her and squats down in front of her. He gently cups her face with one hand and holds her hand with the other. “You don’t have to do this, Sweetheart. It’s just picking open all those wounds on the inside again.” She reaches out and touches his face. She runs her hand along his cheek. Then she reaches down and pick up her pencil and the journal he has bought her. She flips to an empty page and writes:   
_Bo, I promised Jack a long time ago that if I ever was able to escape, that I would do what I could to clear his name. He has only ever helped me and, like you, he took care of me and kept me alive. Together we were prisoners of his brother’s reign of terror for close to 3 years. He has risked his life to help me escape twice now. The first time we failed to escape, the second time only I escaped. Now he needs my help and yours to escape. Please, I owe him and you my life._  
 _If it wasn’t for him, I would not have been alive for you to find that rainy, cold night. If it wasn’t for him knocking his brother out so he could cut me down, I would have died hanging in that tree, naked, whipped, raped, bleeding and alone like the other women in ND. I HAVE to do this, Bo, no matter how much it hurts me to have to remember it all, I have to read and verify what he wrote for an account. I wanted you here with me, so I wasn’t alone to re-live it. You keep me grounded in this reality, Bo, so I don’t get lost in the memories and the past. Please, let me do this as a thank you to him and to fulfill my promise to Jack._

She hands him the journal and lets him read what she wrote. When he is done reading it, he has tears streaming down his face. Her words touch him and he marvels at her courage and faithfulness to keep her promise. Zeus comes over and sits at his feet, pawing gently and softly whining, and rubbing his head on Bo’s leg. Bo looks down at the dog, gives him a sad smile, pats his head and then he looks at Sunshine with glassy, sad eyes and hands her the book back. 

He quietly says, “If we’re going to do this, let’s get you on the sofa where we can be comfortable sitting together while you read.” She nods and hands him the journal and pencils, which he places on the side table. He takes off the blanket from her lap, and sets it on the back of the sofa. Then he comes back over to her and stands between the footrests once he flips them up and out of the way. He bends down and she instinctively wraps her arm around his neck. He gently slides his hands under her upper thighs and counts to three. He gently lifts her up and carries her to the sofa and carefully sets her down so he can sit on her left side. He gets her situated and sits down next to her and takes the blanket off of the back of the sofa. He carefully spreads it across her lap and his, then reaches for the ‘manifesto’ and hands it to her. 

“Where do you want to start reading from, the beginning, or where you came in?” She points at the journal. He picks it up and the pencil and hands her the pencil. He holds the book and she writes: _I’m not sure. Part of me wants to know how this all started and how I am connected to the other cases, but part of me says it is none of my business. I can only verify what I experienced and what he shared with me about his past. I don’t know if what he shared of his past with me is truth or not though._

“Start where you feel lead to, Sweetheart. I’m here for you whatever you decide.” Bo says after reading what she wrote. She looks down and Zeus is laying at their feet facing them from under the coffee table. The dog’s eyes studying her intently. She chuckles. 

She thinks about the two choices and then decided to start at the beginning so she could understand what all Jack had gone through before he met her. They took their time reading the document. Several times she had to quit and just cry and be held by Bo. He pulled out his clean hankie and gave it to her to use, which she did often. He held the note pad for her, and she would flip the page as she finished each one and he would turn the notepad over so she could read the writing on the back of each page. It took them about an hour to get through it all. She would make notes using her red pencil adding things to what he wrote but never scratching out anything. 

When she finished, she noted that from the time they found her till the present, everything he wrote was truth. That she could not vouch for his past prior to meeting him, but that she did note the pieces of his past that she remembered him sharing with her after they had met. She wrote that for the time she had known him he had not committed a crime unless he was being forced to do it by his brother who had either her or Jack at gunpoint or knife point. And that the only thing she saw him do was be the get away driver and it was always him being forced to do so at gun / knife point. She vouched that he was always kind, nursed her injuries and wounds, and tried to protect her as much as he was able to; and that he did finally help her escape successfully, which allowed Bo, Dan & Joe to find and rescue her.

She wrote that she believes Jack is absolutely no threat to society and that it is her wish he not be prosecuted for any crimes pertaining to these cases as a reward for his kindness and willingness to help the lawmen capture Ed. She picked up the journal and wrote in it that she wanted Bo to go get Joe so she could sign it for him since he wanted to witness her doing it. 

Bo got up and went to get Joe. Zeus stood up and stretched and came up to the sofa and just sat at her feet with his chin resting on the sofa cushion. He whined a little and kept nudging her hand as she stared off into space, lost in her thoughts. She wasn’t paying attention to him and he could tell she was bothered by something. She didn’t realize she was teetering on the edge of slipping into one of the episodes of withdrawal, but Zeus sensed it immediately. He kept nudging her, but she wasn’t responding.

Joe and Bo came into the living room to find Zeus frantically nudging her hand and leg and finally he jumped up on the sofa and started licking her face which finally snapped her out of it. When he saw she was back in reality, he huffed and jumped back down and sat there with his head on the sofa cushion again, leaning against her leg. 

Bo was surprised she zoned out like that so fast, he wasn’t even gone that long! He could see she was wavering on the border of crossing into that catatonic state again. He looked at Joe who nodded that he saw it too. They were both grateful that Zeus was there and had been able to pull her out of it. 

They came up to her and Bo sat down next to her and asked if she was ok. She nodded and held up the pencil and looked at Joe. He shook his head and handed her a pen. “You need to sign it in ink, Sweetheart.” He said. He held out the last page where she needed to sign and she did so and dated it. He took the pen from her and signed and dated in the spot for the witness. 

“I know it was hard for you to do this, Sweetheart, but Dan, Jack and I thank you for doing it. She nodded. “Sophie and I really need to get back. We’ll need to leave soon.” He says. “Soph wanted to know if she could come and take your measurements so she can go shopping to get you some real clothes.” He informed Sunshine.

She smiles and nods. “Ok, Hun, I’ll go get her and Peg.” He replies. He takes the notepads, and places them back into the envelope and puts it in his waistband in back. Then he gives Zeus a pat and a treat and tells him to stay here now. He heads out to the porch to get Peg and Sophie. 

Bo looks at Sunshine and sees how exhausted she looks. She is just sitting there staring at the carpet across the room. He can tell her brain is trying to process everything and is struggling. He takes her hand and gives it a little squeeze. She snaps out of her stare and looks at him. He gives her a look and she nods and leans against him as he gently wraps his arm around her head. He feels her body trembling and can tell she is weeping quietly.   
He gently runs his hand through her hair and murmurs, that it’s ok. That she’s safe and she will be fine. He rocks from side to side just a little bit, not enough to hurt her ribs, but enough to be a comforting feeling. She turns her head so she can hear his steady heart beating. She calms down and they just stay like that for a few minutes till Peg and Sophie come in. 

Sophie notices how they are embraced and says, “Awwwwww!” Bo looks up and raises an eyebrow, and he motions for them to come in. Sophie squats down and says, “You up for getting measured, Sunshine? We don’t have to do it right now if you are too tired.” Sunshine looks at her and nods. Bo asks her how does she want Sunshine to be positioned so she can measure her.

Sophie thinks for a moment and then asks, “Sunshine, do you think you can stand for a few minutes? Bo can stand behind you and keep you steady. You’ll just have to put your weight on your good leg. If you get tired, we can let you sit for some of it.”   
Sunshine looks at Bo and raises an eyebrow. He shrugs and says it’s up to her if she wants to try. She nods.

He stands up and turns to her and says, “Let me carry you over by the fire in the fireplace so you stay warm. There’s more room over there for Soph to move around you to take the measurements.”

Sunshine nods and is lifting up her good arm before he even bends down. Sophie giggles. “You remind me of my sister when she was little. She would do that to Poppa when she wanted him to pick her up.”   
Bo chuckles. He leans down and slides his hands under Sunshine’s upper thighs and gently lifts her up. He grimaces when she unconsciously grabs at the back of his hair again. 

“Minx, must you grab my hair there every time?” he whispers in her ear. She nods and giggles, then starts to play with it as he carries her over to the fireplace. He has all he can do to keep from freezing and groaning in sheer pleasure. He knows if he lets her do that for too long he will be getting hard and won’t be able to hide it. He says in her ear, “Ok, little Minx, I’m going to set you down now. See if you can stand on your good leg before I move from in front of you to behind you.” She nods. He gently sets her down. As he does so she has to let go of his hair in back cuz he is so much taller than she is, and it would hurt her back too much right now to reach up that high. 

She slides her fingers through his locks as he lowers her, and he is thankful his back is to Peg and Sophie. He bites his lip to keep from groaning. He looks down at her and she is smirking!!! “Oooh you little minx! You did that on purpose!” he thinks to himself and whispers it in her ear. She giggles. He waits a few seconds with his hands on her hips to steady her to see if her leg holds her up and doesn’t buckle. 

When she nods to him, he carefully moves around her until he is standing behind her, hoping Peg and Soph don’t see the bulge forming in his pants in front. He is keeping his hands on her waist in case her leg buckles. He was surprised when he set her down how short she was. Her head only comes up to his shoulders! 

He chuckles though once he gets behind her and sees that he can rest his chin on the top of her head without any straining of his neck. He does so as he holds onto her hips steadying her. She grunts when she feels him resting his chin on her head and pokes his belly with her elbow lightly. He grunts and grins and removes his chin from her head. 

Sophie giggles and says, “Ok, first I need your height. Can you lift up your toe so I can slide the tape measure under it to anchor it to the floor?” Sunshine does so and Soph tucks it under her toe, then she lowers the toe to hold it against the floor. Sophie unrolls the tape until it’s even with Sunshine’s head. Soph squishes Sunshine’s curls down and asks Bo what the tape measure says for Sunshine’s height since he was taller than her and could see it easier. Bo looked at the tape and said, “Five feet, six inches.” Peg writes it down. They spend the next 15 minutes getting all the measurements for Sunshine.

When they are done, Peg nods, then says, “Oooh, we need to trace her foot so we can get her shoe size!!!”   
Bo moves around to the front of Sunshine, picks her up carefully and places her into one of the wing backed chairs. Sophie takes a piece of paper that Peg hands to her, and she puts it under Sunshine’s foot after Bo removes the slipper. Soph asks her to put weight on the foot so she can trace it and get the proper width. Bo helps Sunshine stand up again. Sophie traces her foot and then Bo helps Sunshine sit once more and puts the slipper back on her foot. “There, now we got everything we need to do some shopping! Maybe next time I come back you’ll be able to try them on and we can do a little fashion show for the guys!” she giggles. Sunshine just smiles and rolls her eyes.

Sophie comes over and gives her a careful hug. “I gotta go now. Joe is waiting for me outside. You be good for Bo and do what he tells you to, ok?” Sunshine nods. Soph gives Bo a hug and tells him to take care of both himself and Sunshine. He nods and tells her he will. Soph hugs Peg and says, “See you later!” Peg chuckles and gives Sophie’s butt a smack. “Get goin’ girl or you will be late for getting home!” 

Sunshine waves at her as Sophie walks out of the room. Bo looks down at Sunshine who looks just exhausted. “Bedtime,” he quietly says. “You have just enough time for a nap before supper.”

She looks up at him with tired eyes and holds up her arm, knowing he’ll pick her up again. He and Peg chuckle. He leans down and she grabs hold of his hair and he chuckles and picks her up. She rests her cheek on his shoulder and breathes in his scent. He can feel her breath on his neck, and it’s unnerving him how he is reacting to her. He carries her across the living room and then stops and whispers to her to tell Zeus to come to bed. She nods and pats Bo’s back to get Zeus’ attention. He looks up and she makes the signal for ‘come’ and he gets up and follows them to the bedroom.

Peg shakes her head and chuckles as she walks into the kitchen to make supper. 


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37   
INFORMATION EXCHANGE

  
Dan heads out to Happy Louie’s to get them some supper. He is heading over when he hears a horn honk at him. Joe and Amy are waving at him and they pull up in front of Louie’s. Dan walks over to the green 1933 Ford truck and Joe rolls down the window. 

“Hey Dan! How did the meeting with the Sheriffs go?” Joe asks. “Dan rubs his face. Well, we figured out several options, but unfortunately most of them involved using Sunshine as bait. I don’t think they understood the severity of her injuries and mental state.” 

Joe scrunches up his face. “Dan, whatever you do, DO NOT tell that to Bo! He got quite vicious when I mentioned that you were meeting with the sheriffs and that they may need to use her as bait to catch this guy. He got INCREDIBLY angry and said in no uncertain terms, that was out of the question. That she had been through enough and putting her in more danger was NOT an option …he will NOT allow it.” 

Dan rubs his face. “We may have to. We’ll just have to see how tonight’s phone call goes.” Dan says. “How is Sunshine? Were they able to get her to come out of her shell again?” He asks. 

Joe and Sophie both nod. “Yup. When we got there, she was sitting in the wheelchair by the window in the living room. Joe mentions. 

“How did Zeus do? Did he take to her? I see you don’t have him back with you.” Dan inquires.

Sophie smiles, “Dan, you should have seen Zeus! He goes bounding up to the door and as soon as Peg opened it! He nearly knocked her over he was so happy to see her. He greeted Bo and let him scratch around his neck and Bo found a particularly itchy spot that got Zeus’ foot a thumping. It set Sunshine off into a fit of giggles. Then Zeus goes and greets her and licks her hand and face and she is giggling again. I haven’t seen her giggle so hard before. Poor thing was clutching her ribs and had tears running down her face, and she couldn’t stop giggling for a while.” Sophie fills him in. 

Joe chuckles when he remembers it. “Yeah, it was pretty cute. They hit it off right away. Zeus could tell when she was in pain and was trying to help her by distracting her.” He adds.

“Did she read the account that Jack wrote down?” 

Joe nods. “She added a few things to it but confirmed the part that was from when she was kidnapped to the present, and commented on the statements about his past that he had shared with her. But Dan, it ALMOST sent her back into a catatonic state again! She seemed fine, Bo said, when he came to get me and when we got back into the room, she had already started slipping into it. Had it not been for Zeus being there and noticing it, and getting her out of it, we may not have gotten the signature from her!” 

Dan looks at Joe surprised. “Really, well, I suppose it was to be somewhat expected. It WAS a difficult read for someone who HADN’T experienced it firsthand. I should’ve known it would trigger her even more.” He says rubbing his chin.  


Sophie nods. “It made Peg cry when they read it in the kitchen.” She adds. “Both her & Bo just sat there gobsmacked by what Sunshine survived.”  
Joe hands Dan the manilla envelope. “Here. Signed, and delivered.” 

Dan nods. “Thanks, Joe. Care to join us for supper? I was going to get some food to go and eat back at the Jail with Jack. I’m sure he will want to hear how things went.” Dan asks them.   
“Of course, Love!” Sophie says. “What were you going to get?” She asks.   
“Well, Jack requested chili and biscuits. So I figured that sounded pretty good.” Soph nods and so does Joe.  
They go in, place their orders and chat while Louie fills the orders. Mame comes out a little while later with their orders and Dan pays. He thanks her and they head back to the truck. Joe gets in the truck and drives over to his place, then meets Dan and Sophie back at the Jail.   


Jack is sitting on his bed in the cell when they come walking back in. He was looking at the magazine again and looked up when he heard the keys in the door jingle. Dan, Joe, and Sophie come walking in and Jack stands and walks to the door of his cell and leans his face against two of the bars. 

“Did ya get the food, Sir?” He asks Dan. Dan nods and holds up the bag of food.

“Joe, go let him out so we can all sit and eat.” Joe walks over and unlocks the door. Jack follows him back to the big desk and they unpack the food and sit down to eat. 

Jack looks over at Joe and asks, “Sir, did you see Ruth? Were they able to get her out of her withdrawn state?” Joe looks at Dan wondering if it is ok to share the info. Dan nods.

Joe looks back at Jack and nods. “Yeah, we saw her. The Doc had her sitting in a wheelchair so she could look out a window and enjoy the view.” 

Jack looks incredibly worried when he hears she is in a wheelchair. He sighs, puts his head in his hands and rubs his face.

“What’s the matter, Jack?” Sophie asks him. 

“I just feel bad that she’s in a wheelchair now. Can you tell me about her injuries? Is she paralyzed from the fall?” 

Again, Joe looks at Dan for permission to share info. Dan nods. “She was pretty bad when we found her, Jack. That fall did a number to her body. She had a dislocated shoulder, broken arm and leg and roadrash all the way down her right side. She had a swollen face on the right side as well, and the Doc suspected she had broken nearly all the ribs on her right side.”

Jack cringes. “Was she paralyzed though? Why was she in a wheelchair?” He asks. 

Joe replies, “All the broken bones were on the Right side, Jack. She can’t walk cuz she is in casts and can’t use crutches cuz of the broken ribs. The doc has had to carry her when they move her and figured it would be easier to move her around her location in the wheelchair since carrying her causes her too much pain. Luckily her spine was uninjured, miraculously.  
Her back, on the other hand, was shredded from the whipping your brother gave her. It took them almost 4 ½ hours to clean and stitch it up. The doc was so exhausted by the time he finished that he literally collapsed!” 

Jack’s eyes get huge and he drops his head. “I guess I owe him an apology too and a ‘thank you’ for saving her life. I want to thank you all for doing that too! I had been hoping and praying that good people would find her after we drove off.” He quietly says.   
“How did Ruth handle reading what I had written? Did she verify it?” he looks up hopeful.

Dan pulls it out of the envelope and glances at the red pencil markings on the pages. “Well, it looks like she verified it and shared a few things as well about your past that you shared with her. She commented on the fact she can’t verify your past prior to meeting her, but she did say which pieces of your past you had shared.” Dan shows him the notepads. Jack takes them and looks at what she wrote. He nods. And hands them back to Dan. “So now what happens?” He asks Dan. 

“Now we make more solid plans to trap your brother…” Dan replies. “The Sheriffs from the Dakotas are on their way here to talk with you. It sounds like the Federal Marshall will be getting involved too since this now has extended beyond just one state’s borders and there's a federal warrant out for the arrest of you two.” Dan replies with a groan.

“Was hoping we wouldn’t have to get them involved. Extraditing your brother to another state to stand trial runs the risk of him escaping, which I am concerned about if he is truly as deranged and unpredictable as you say.” Dan explains and Jack nods.

"With you as a witness, your testimony and Ruth as a surviving witness, and her testimony, I believe at least OUR case is solid. If the Sheriffs in the Dakotas can find the two babies’ bodies, and the caches of money that you two hid, I believe they will have a solid case against him for the crimes you said he committed. Due to your testimony and photographic memory, I believe their cases should be fairly solid, as long as you cooperate and help them. I expect he will most likely get the chair for what he’s done, in at least one state, if not both. 

Jack sighs, “I figured. I’m not happy about losing my brother like this. He’s the only family I have left, but what he has done has led him directly to it, and he deserves what he will get. Do you think they will agree to let me off the hook, Sir? I honestly wish I could’ve done more to stop him, but I didn’t know what else to do when he was always pointing his gun at my head or one of the women’s or his knife at our necks. I didn’t have a weapon of any kind until after the street dance. Then I was able to purchase a small knife that I could fit in my pants to use to cut out of the ropes he liked to use to tie people up with.”

Joe reaches over and pats his shoulder, “Continue to cooperate with us and not cause any problems, and we’ll vouch for you, as will Ruth, that you were as much an innocent captive as they were.” Jack looks at him and then at Dan, who nods. “Do you still have that knife on you?” Dan asks. Jack nods and hands it to Dan. “Can I have it back when this is all done, though?” he asks. Dan nods, “As long as you behave and cooperate.”

Jack sighs, and they eat in silence for a while. Dan looks at the clock on the mantle when it chimes the 7’oclock hour. “Ok, Jack, we have 3 hours to figure out what is going to most likely be discussed with the next phone call your brother makes.” Jack looks over at him and nods. 

They talk about Ed and what his train of thought has been. Jack guesses that Ed will most likely come to town in the next couple days to check up on him and do some searching of his own. They talk about ways to lure him into town with out giving away too many details about Ruth’s condition and location, and then talk about the ways that failed to catch him in the past. They outline a few options that might work this time. Luring him to the bar and getting him so plastered he can’t function, or catching him in the stolen car as he comes into town, or ambushing him in the motel room by telling him Jack found Ruth and will wait with her in there with Jack when in reality it will be the Sheriffs waiting for him in there and outside the motel in hiding.

They talk until 8:30pm and then Sophie heads home. She tells them all goodnight, and then heads out. They head over to the motel to wait for the 9pm phone call with Ed. He calls Jack, they talk for a bit. Jack tells him that there is no new grave yet, but that it is a little early to be expecting a burial, to give it a couple more days. Ed is getting jumpy and anxious to find Ruth. He is annoyed that she seems to have vanished into thin air.

Ed tells him he spent the day in Summit looking around and trying to find out any information. Still oblivious to the fact of how fast news travels in small communities, and that people in those parts had been warned not to talk to him about any of the events. Jack asked if he was still driving the black car he stole. Ed told him he ditched it and nabbed a different one that was green cuz the black one had run out of gas along the highway. 

Dan made a note to inquire around for any stolen green vehicles in the area. And to put an APB out warning people to lock their vehicles and not leave keys inside them. Since those were the ones he targeted.

They finish talking and Ed says he will call again tomorrow at the same time. He asks Jack if he needs any cash and if he had enough to pay for the room. Jack looks at Dan, Dan nods and quietly says, "Tell him yes you have enough”, so Jack tells Ed, he has enough. They finish the conversation and hang up. 

The two lawmen and Jack head over to the office of the motel and Dan explains the situation to the owners, they agree to let them continue using the room as a contact point for as long as they need. Dan tells them they will be reimbursed for the days it was used and to let them know when this is done, how much the bill will be. They agree to do so, and the men head back to the jail. 

“Ok, Jack, I’d feel a whole lot better if you’d agree to spend the nights in the jail here to keep you safe till we catch your brother. We have several cells that are empty and when we catch him we will put him in one on the other side of the room so he can’t get at you between the bars. We’ll gag him as well, if necessary. Once he is arrested and the ND Sheriffs and Federal Marshal gets here, the Marshal will be the one to determine whether or not you get to go free. Like I said, we will do our best to convince him not to charge you with anything, considering you turned yourself in, and have willingly helped us solve multiple cases almost a decade old as well as the ND missing woman’s case and this case of Ruth’s abuser. Try to get some rest and we’ll make more plans in the morning, ok?” Dan informs him. 

Jack just sighs, nods and shrugs. He heads for the cell he has been staying in. Joe follows him and unlocks the door for him to enter through. Once he is in the cell, Joe closes the door and makes sure it is locked. “Try to get some sleep, Jack.” Joe says to him. 

“Thanks, Sir, you as well.” Jack replies.   
Joe walks over to Dan. “You staying with him tonight or am I?” He asks Dan.   
“I’ll stay with him. Soph knows if I don’t come home that is why. You go home and get some rest!” Joe nods.

“Dan, I gotta go meet with my friend tomorrow to pick up the letter box for Sunshine, though, I wonder now, how much she will need it. She seems to be writing and drawing just fine with her left hand.”

“She’s drawing?” Dan asks. “What is she drawing?” he asks Joe.  
“She showed me some drawings she had done. Bo said later that they were from her flashbacks she had been having. The one she showed me in particular, was one of the two brothers and her sitting in the cab of the truck. It was seeing them from the front looking into the cab. She is very talented, Dan. It looked like the Brother’s wanted posters except they were in color!” He replied. 

“She is having a lot of flashbacks?” Jack asks, concerned and Joe nods. “She hasn’t spoken since we found her, so Bo bought her a journal and pencils to write or draw with to communicate. She has been drawing what the flashbacks were about.” He explains to Jack. 

“And she drew one with the three of us in the truck?” Jack asks. 

“Yup! I recognized you right away!” Joe tells him. 

“Oooohhh, Ed isn’t going to like that very much!!!” Jack says. He looks up at the two lawmen and sees their concerned looks. “Oh! Don’t worry, I won’t tell him! He just isn’t going to like that she is telling you guys what all happened… and won’t like that I ratted too! If you see her again or talk to the people staying with her, you might want to suggest to them to have her draw as much of our accounts out as she is able to. That way you can use them for evidence, and everyone will be able to see what we saw.” Jack suggests.

“If she is as good as you say, it may help people understand that this isn’t just something being made up, that it really did happen.” He mentions. 

Dan and Joe look at each other and nod. “I will call the people she is with in the morning to suggest it. For now, get some sleep, Jack. Tomorrow is going to be another long day of planning. The Marshal and ND Sheriffs should be here in the afternoon. They are coming by train and we’ll pick them up from the Belton Despot here in town.” Dan informs Jack. 

“Ok. Good night, Sirs.” Jack says and turns to go lie down on his bed. 

Dan follows Joe out to the front deck of the Jail and closes the door. “Joe, I want you to stay here with him tomorrow and keep an eye out for the older brother. I got word there was another stolen vehicle in the area and suspect he probably took it.”   
Joe nods. “You gonna go pick up the Sheriffs and Marshall?” He asks Dan.

Dan nods. “I’m sure they will want to go and talk to Sunshine at some point either tomorrow or within the next few days. And they will definitely want to interrogate Jack. Poor kid, first he gets us asking him questions, then the local Sheriffs have at him, and now the US Marshall and the ND Sheriffs.” Dan comments as he rubs his chin. 

“Well, Dan, at least he is sticking to his story and isn’t changing it with each go round!” Joe reminds him. Dan nods.   
“I’ll see you in the morning, Dan. Have a good night and get some sleep!” Joe says as he walks down the steps of the jailhouse and waves. 

“Night Joe!” Dan calls back. Then Dan turns and goes back into the jail to try to get some sleep. When he enters, he sees Jack, sleeping on the cot in the jail cell, his back facing the bars. Dan sighs quietly, closes and locks the door. He walks over to the huge desk, plops down in the chair, leans back and props his feet up on the corner of the desk, like Joe had done the other night, and pulls his hat down over his face. He is asleep quickly. 


	38. NEW REVELATIONS

Chapter 38   
NEW REVELATIONS

  
Bo carefully carries her into the Master bedroom. It is dark in there aside from the moonlight streaming in the windows. Zeus followed them in after Sunshine motioned for him to ‘come’. Zeus sits at the foot of the bed and watches as Bo carefully sets Sunshine on the edge of the bed. He tells her to stay put. Then walks over to the windows and draws the curtains closed.

Bo turns and sees Zeus sitting at her feet, licking her leg that isn’t casted. She is giggling and trying not to fall over. “Zeus,” he says quietly. The dog looks up at him and stops licking her leg. Bo walks back over to them and pats the foot end of the bed on her side. He makes the motion she did for “up” and is surprised when Zeus hops up onto the bed and curls up where Bo had patted the mattress. Bo smiles.

He turns to Sunshine and asks, “Are you ok? Do you want anything for pain to help you sleep?” She shakes her head, ‘no’.   
Bo leans down and helps her take off the housecoat. Then kneels at her feet and gently removes the slippers, setting them aside so no one trips on them. He picks up the housecoat and places it over the chair at the vanity. He crosses back over to her and asks if she needs anything before he helps her to lie down. She yawns, grimaces and grabs her side. “You sure you don’t want anything for pain?” He asks with a raised eyebrow. She shakes her head, ‘no’. 

“Stubborn woman!” he thinks, but doesn’t comment further. She looks up at him sleepily and gestures for him to pick her up to help reposition her to lie down. “Do you want to lie on your side?” he asks her. She thinks and then nods.

Leaning over, he picks her up gently, then repositions her so she lays down on her side. “You comfortable now?” he asks as he covers her with blankets. He puts a pillow in front of her and places her casted arm on top of it. “Would you like a pillow for your leg too?” he asks. She nods. He flips up the blanket, gently picks up her leg and places a pillow under it, then places it back on the pillow. Then he covers her leg back up with the blankets. 

She smiles up at him and he sees she is fighting to stay awake. He places the little bell in her hand and tells her to go to sleep. She looks at him and then at the bell, then looks sad. He sits down on the bed’s edge and brushes the hair out of her eyes. “Do you want me to lay next to you for a while?” he asks her. She nods. “I can for a little bit, but I need to talk to Peg and Henry for a while too while you rest. So, if you wake up, and I’m not here, that is why, Ok? If you need us, just ring the bell, and we will come be with you and see what you need. Do you understand, Sunshine?” She lets out a small sigh and nods. “Do you want me to lie here facing you or behind you?” He asks. She thinks for a minute. Then indicates she wants him to spoon her. 

He gets up and goes to the other side of the bed. He crawls onto the bed carefully and over to her. He lays down next to her, so he is spooning her, his chest lightly resting against her back. He gently lays his arm, so it drapes over her waist and he rests his hand on top of her casted one, intertwining his fingers with hers carefully. He tucks his knees behind hers and against the pillow there. He feels her give a small sigh and she squeezes his fingers gently in thanks. He lays his head down next to hers on the pillow, sighs, breathing in the scent of her hair, and whispers, “You’re safe now, Sweetheart. Go to sleep and get some rest. We’ll be right in the next room if you need us. You won’t be left alone in the cabin here. Not till you are back to 100% and feel comfortable with doing so. Now close your eyes and sleep, Sweetheart.” 

She nods, then lays still. He listens to her breathing. Once it has evened out and she seems to be asleep, he tries to slide his fingers out from hers. She stirs briefly and mumbles something. So he stops and waits a bit longer. Again, he tries, and she doesn’t stir. He carefully lifts his arm and rolls to his right side and carefully slips out from behind her. He takes a few pillows and gently rests them near her back, so she doesn’t roll over and then slips out of the room quietly. He leaves the door open so they can see if she wakes and needs them. 

He heads for the kitchen to talk to Peg. She looks up from chopping potatoes for a stew she is making. He sits down at the table and sighs. “Something bothering you, Bo?” She asks him, bringing the cutting board over to the table, then going back for the bowl of potatoes in the sink. She comes back with them and sits down, setting the bowl in the middle of the table near the cutting board. She looks up at him and then starts cutting potatoes again, waiting for him to talk.   
He watches her for a minute, then says. “Peg, I’m just amazed how fast she is bouncing back from all of this. She was playful and almost flirty with me today, and seems to accept Henry and Joe’s presence around her and their interactions with her quite easily now. However she still seems unsure of Dan though. Why?” 

“Well, Bo, I can understand her accepting you so quickly since you have been almost a constant presence around her now and have shown her that she has nothing to fear from you. She trusts you.   
I’m guessing she has accepted Henry as kind of a grandfather type figure, or maybe a father figure. She seems to look at me like a motherly figure from what I can tell. Maybe she accepts Joe so easily just because of his friendly nature. He really is like a big teddy bear…” She laughs.

Bo smirks. “… she is learning to trust people, Bo. She apparently feels safe enough around us to show us her playful side and must feel comfortable enough to tease you and flirt.   
Maybe she just hasn’t been around Dan enough to feel comfortable with him. He HAS been pretty busy trying to deal with this younger brother who seemed to appear out of nowhere and turned himself in. Give it time, she will eventually feel comfortable around him too. She just needs to get to know him better. That might not happen till after this is all done, but it will happen, eventually. 

As for her flirting and teasing you…You do realize you are quite handsome, don’t you. She’s not the only one who is admiring of your looks and demeanor, Bo. There are plenty of women who would love to have your attentions on them. Between your velvety voice and those piercing Sapphire blue eyes, you are a hard man to resist, Bo. She must sense a kindred spirit in you since you both know the loss of loved ones and infant children. 

Just be patient with her. I know it probably feels awkward, but just take it slow with her. Be her friend, and companion. If it blossoms to more than that, then see where it goes, in time. But let her heart heal first. Understand that It’s ok to let her know your feelings, to tell her to just take this slow, get used to each other, get to know one another, and that you can see where it takes you once this case is all over. Don’t be afraid to kindly set boundaries for you both. 

She has learned to trust, Bo, at least with our little group of friends, now we need to remind her about independence. Soon she will be able to feel well enough to do more things on her own. She still has one good hand, so she can do some things. Give her little tasks to do throughout the day, things to keep her busy and help her regain a sense of independence. But be there to help when she needs it. Take time to get to know each other and maybe see if she has any thoughts about what she wants for the future.” Peg suggests.

Bo nods. He gets up, pours himself a cup of coffee, then sits and thinks about what she just said. He watches her as she finishes cutting potatoes and watches as she dumps them into the stew pot along with the other veggies she had cut up earlier.   
“Bo, it will be a while before supper is ready, I will listen for Sunshine to wake up. Why don’t you go see if Henry needs help with the wood pile? I think he was splitting more wood for you for the upcoming season. Why don’t you go outside and enjoy the fresh air for a while and give him a hand?”

Bo nods, then gets up and gives her a hug. “Thanks Peg. For everything.”   
“My pleasure, Bo, now shoo!” She says and shoos him out of the kitchen. 

He smirks and chuckles and heads to the entry to put on his jacket. He checks on Sunshine, who is still asleep and then heads out to the deck in front to put on his muddy shoes. He picks them up and tips them upside down, making sure nothing had crawled inside them while they had been sitting there. A cricket falls out and chirps angrily at him but other than that, nothing else is in them. He walks to the steps and sits down. He clunks the boots together a few times over the side of the step to knock off the loose mud. Then slides them on his feet. He stands and goes to find Henry chopping wood over near the barn.

Henry stops picking up the wood he had split when he sees Bo sit down on the step to clean his boots and puts them on. He waited till Bo came over to see what he wanted.

Bo nods when he gets close and says, “How goes the wood splitting, Henry?”   
Henry chuckles and starts picking up the chunks again. “Doing fine, Bo. How’s Sunshine doin? She looked pretty upset about having to read that manifesto. Did she make it through it all?” He asks, looking at Bo, concerned.   
Bo nods. “Yeah, she made it through it. Had to stop several times as she started to have some flashbacks and would just cry in my arms. But we got her through it all.” He says as he rubs the back of his neck and watches for a few moments as Henry stacks the wood along the barn’s outer wall.

“She was pretty worn out after that, so I made her lay down and take a nap for a bit before supper.” He tells Henry. Henry nods and then Bo starts picking up wood chunks as well to stack. 

Once they got all the wood stacked that Henry had split, they walked back to the trail head between their cabins. Bo looked at the muddy mess. “I hope this dries out before we start getting snow.” Bo says. Henry nods. “Joe and I tied rope between the trees where handholds were needed to navigate it. I got some wood shavings back at the cabin that I can put down for traction in the slick areas if you want.” Bo nods, “Maybe tomorrow, Henry, it’s getting late for doing it tonight.” Henry nods. 

Bo and Henry walk back around to the front of the house.

“When did you hang up the feeders, Bo?” Henry asks as he notices a Cardinal fly up into the tree from the feeder.

“This morning. I thought it would give Sunshine some entertainment.” He chuckles. They sit in the chairs on the deck by the living room window.

“How are you doing with all this, Bo? Is it hard for you to be in that room and see her sleeping in that bed?” He asks carefully.   
Bo looks at him for a minute then up at the chickadee that just landed on the feeder in front of them. He rubs the back of his neck and sighs. “It was incredibly hard at first, but I don’t really think about it much now. That first night I laid next to her after her flashback, I couldn’t sleep. It was the first night I had spent in that room since Abbie and Faith died in there.

I started thinking about how Sunshine must feel trying to cope with all that she has been through. It must have been so scary for her!   
I laid there watching the moonlight creep across the ceiling. She was snuggled up against me. The moonlight’s patterns on the ceiling reminded me of the trip my grandmother took me on to England when I was about 10 or 12. We toured a bunch of old churches that had stained glass windows. She was fascinated with learning about them and how they were made without using the modern methods we have now. 

She always said that they reminded her how God takes the broken pieces of our lives (if we let him) and he makes them into something beautiful to remind us of our struggles and accomplishments. I never understood what she meant by that until that night after Sunshine got here and I lay there beside her in that bed. I thought about how broken and empty I felt after losing Abbie and Faith in that room, then got to thinking that Sunshine must feel like that only a whole lot worse. 

It reminded me of the class I had taken in medical school, where we covered care for abuse victims, and I was reminded how they often feel like dirty, broken, unwanted trash tossed to the side of the road. Sunshine had said she felt like that…broken and worthless, when we talked the other night. 

I wish I could help her see that she is a whole person and a treasure to us, but I’m not sure how. I thought about taking her to one of the churches in town that have some stained-glass windows and sharing with her about my trip and Grandma’s words, but I’m not sure if it would help her.” Bo explains. 

Henry chuckles. “One man’s trash often becomes another man’s greatest treasure, Bo. If you have the right mindset and eyes to see it and appreciate it.” He says, patting Bo’s knee.

“I think taking her to that church and sharing those thoughts with her would help her a whole lot! Your Grandmother was a wise woman, if she thought like that and could make that connection between the pieces of stained glass and our lives as people. Everything in life, Bo, happens for a reason and a purpose, both the good and the bad. I’m sure you didn’t understand at the time why she took you on that trip with her, but I’m glad she did and planted those seeds of wisdom in your noggin’!” He explains. 

“How are your feelings towards Sunshine, Bo? I know you care about her, but we’ve also seen you looking at her like a lovesick puppy and Peg says you get a certain look on your face when you go to pick up Sunshine and she grabs the hair on the back of your neck. I’m just curious. You don’t have to share if you aren’t comfortable doing so.” Henry inquires. 

Bo feels his face get warm and he is sure Henry can see him blushing. He rubs the spot on his scalp where Sunshine pulls his hair whenever he picks her up. “I don’t know how to explain it, Henry. At first all I felt was just concern and amazement for her and all she had gone through. Several times now, we’ve touched hands, or I’ve picked her up a certain way and our skin has touched, and it was like a bolt of energy hitting me. I don’t know if she felt it too, or not.   
The first time she grabbed my hair when I picked her up, I don’t think she even realized she did it. I had frozen in place and couldn’t think straight. I completely forgot for a moment what I was going to do prior to her grabbing my hair there. She blushed SO red in the face that I felt bad mentioning it after I had set her down and she didn’t release her hold on my hair. 

It seemed to be something unconscious she was doing, grabbing my hair there. A day or so ago, she started to play with it when I would carry her from the bed to the wheelchair or across the room. I had all I could do not to freeze and groan! Peg suggested that maybe she just liked how soft my hair was. But I don’t think that was the only reason. Abbie used to grab my hair like that when we’d make love and I had forgotten that feeling until Sunshine accidentally did it that first time. She must have noticed though, cuz now she seems to do it on purpose, that little Minx, just to tease me and see if I react to it.” Boaz laments as he rubs his face, embarrassed.

She did it to me when I had carried her over by the fireplace this afternoon, so Sophie and Peg could measure her for new clothes. My back was to them and she played with my hair on my neck and then ran her fingers through it as I set her down. I couldn’t help but groan a little and, honestly, Henry, she stirred something in me, and I started to get hard. It was so unexpected and embarrassing for me. I was grateful that I could turn and stand behind her to hide it for a while till I could calm myself down. After I had set her down, she looked up at me and smirked! The little Minx knew, and she had done it on purpose! She knew she was getting a response out of me doing that! But I don’t understand why she is doing it?” Boaz says in frustration.

Henry listens and then thinks about the situation and what they know of Sunshine. Then he calmly leans forward and puts his elbows on his knees, mimicking Boaz’s current position. “Bo, it seems to me like she is testing you to see how you react to intimacy. Remember, she was married, before these two men kidnapped her, though we don’t know how long she had been married or if it was a pleasant experience for her. Then for two or three years she was brutally raped and abused. Maybe she finds you attractive, but isn’t sure she wants to let you close to her like that and is ‘testing the waters’ so to speak to see if you would react kindly or like the older brother did. She obviously trusts you enough to risk trying this. Perhaps she is wondering how much control you have over your emotions and that is why she did that in front of Peg and Soph. Because she knew they would be there if what she was doing ended up going wrong…” Henry comments. 

Bo nods, and thinks about Henry’s words. “It was risky, on her part. She doesn’t know me very well yet, and it could’ve gone horribly wrong.” He says.  
“Yes, Bo, you’re right, but like I said, she knew Soph and Peg were there to intervene if it did head that way.

If it makes you uncomfortable, though, you need to sit down and have a gentle talk with her. Explain why it is making you uncomfortable, and whether or not you want her to stop doing it. Lay down some ground rules so you both don’t do something that may break trust or hurt the other and hinder her recovery.   
If you both are feeling an attraction to each other, then get it out in the open between you two and just take things very slowly till this case is done and she is fully recovered. Then if you two want to court after that, then do so.” He says to Bo, as he reaches over and pats his shoulder. 

“She seems like a good woman, Bo, and has done wonders to bring you back into the land of the living. She has gotten you out of this rut you were in of grieving and guilt and has reminded you that it is time to let that go and move on. Life is too short to hold onto the past and let guilt and despair drown you. Enjoy life and live it to the fullest measure you can with those you love, Bo.” He says and then stands to stretch. “I’m gonna see how supper is coming along. Want me to come get you when it’s ready?”  


Bo nods. Henry walks into the cabin and closes the door quietly, leaving Bo to sit and think. He leans back into the chair, thinking about all they talked about. He thinks about Sunshine, and all she has been through, and how she has been acting lately. Now that he has talked to Henry about it, it seems to make a bit more sense. ‘Testing the waters’ Henry called it. Did she really find him attractive? He had lost so much weight, had the long, scraggly hair, a scruffy beard and dark circles under his eyes from the stress and lack of sleep. He rubbed his face. He didn’t feel very attractive or handsome right now. 

He sits there lost in thought when suddenly he feels something hopping on his knee. He glances down and sees a chickadee sitting there cracking a shell as it sits on his knee. He is frozen as he doesn’t want to disturb it. Mesmerized at how close it is. Slowly he lowers his hand and it flies back up to the feeder, then grabs a seed and flies back to his knee. He smiles. ‘Building trust…’ Suddenly it dawns on him that Sunshine is a lot like these skittish little birds. They fly at the least movement, but if you sit still, and don’t move too fast, they learn to trust you enough to let you near and are comfortable enough to eat their meal in your presence and even let you touch them. 

He sits there motionless for a few minutes as the chickadees fly between his knees and the feeder. A second one had joined the first in landing on his knees and now when one of them flew back from the feeder, it landed on the handle of the chair just a few inches from his fingers. He was amazed how close they were coming to him. One more inch and he could touch it! He slowly lifted a finger and it looked at him. Then hopped onto his finger to eat it’s seed. He just sat there stunned that it did that, not expecting it to.

Suddenly Henry opens the door and comes out. The birds fly away and leave Bo sitting there with a stunned look on his face.

Henry laughs and tells him to come inside and get washed up. 


	39. DECLARATIONS

Chapter 39   
DECLARATIONS

  
Bo shakes his head, gets up and heads into the cabin. When he gets in, he is surprised when he sees Sunshine sitting in the wheelchair at the dining table. Henry is sitting next to her and they are talking quietly, and she is drawing. Zeus is laying off to the side of the room out of the way of traffic, but still where he can keep an eye on Sunshine. She looks up at him and he walks over slowly. He gives Henry a confused look. 

“She woke up while we were talking at the woodpile. Peg helped her up and got her ready and when I came in, she asked Sunshine if it would be ok if I helped her into the wheelchair. She nodded, so Peg and I helped her into it, then rolled her out here where she agreed to draw some pictures for me of what she could remember from the day she got whipped so we can show them to Dan and Joe the next time they come for a visit. Dan might want to include them as evidence. 

She finishes the picture she was working on and Bo comes around and looks over hers and Henry’s shoulder at it. It’s her in the same grove of trees as before, hanging by her wrists from the tree, her back facing them. Jack is tied to a tree near the edge of the page and the front part of the truck is visible in the bottom corner of the page. At the center is Ed. His back to the viewer, and he has his arm raised with the whip. There are a few red whip marks on the woman’s back and butt.

Bo reaches down and flips the page back to see the other pictures she had drawn. She looks up at him and is puzzled by the look of sadness on his face. He glances over to her, and puts his hand gently on the back of her head and strokes her hair. “I’m so sorry you had to go through all of this, Sweetheart, but I am proud of you for being willing to relive it to make these drawings for us so we can better understand what happened to you.   
Seeing your drawings, makes it…I’m not sure how to describe it without sounding crass… more real, than just reading it being described by words.” Bo says. 

Henry nods in agreement. “A good Picture can speak a thousand words to the viewer.” Says Henry. “And your drawings, my dear, are amazing! If you feel up to it sometime, would you draw me and Peg together?” Henry asks her.   
She looks at him surprised, then nods with a big smile on her face. Bo chuckles and rubs her hair again. “Sweetheart, make sure you sign and date all your drawings in case Dan wants to use them for evidence. Date the drawing for the day you drew them and if they are a flash back, write that and the date if you can remember it or at least a rough estimate of when it happened. If you’re not sure of the date, we can call Dan and he can ask Jack for you. Apparently, Jack has a photographic memory and forgets very little. It’ll make a BIG impact if those in the courtroom and jury realize you drew these from memory of your experience. You should always sign and date your drawings anyway, though, so someone else can’t claim they drew them instead of you.” Bo gently suggests. 

She looks up at him, then nods. She flips back to the other pictures and signs her name in the corners of all the pictures and looks at Henry wondering what date to put on them. He chuckles and tells her the dates, which she writes down. 

“These should be put in the order of how they happened though.” Bo says flipping through the drawings. He notices the pages were perforated to be torn out with a clean edge. “If you carefully tear them out and put them in order, I will get you a manilla envelope to put them in for Dan.” He says.

Sunshine nods and looks at Henry. He nods and begins to carefully tear out the pictures for her. Then she puts them in the order that they happened.   
Bo comes back with a manilla envelope and she hands him the drawings. He puts them in the envelope and closes the metal clasp. “When you make any more drawings related to your experiences with this case, put them in here in the order of events, make sure you sign and date them with the date you drew them, and the date the event happened (if you can remember).” He tells her. She nods and puts it next to her in the wheelchair.

Just then Peg comes in with the pot of stew for supper and sets it on the hot-plate in the center of the table. She goes back in and brings out all the place settings. Bo helps Sunshine pack up all her drawing stuff, tucking it in between Sunshine’s leg and the side of the wheelchair next to the envelope, and Henry starts to set the table. 

They sit down to eat and enjoy the meal. Visiting with each other and Sunshine smiling and listening to the conversations. Bo notices that Zeus is no longer lying where he was before and he wonders where the dog went. Then he sees Sunshine pick out a chunk of meat from her bowl once in a while and it disappears when she lowers her arm to the side of the wheelchair between her and Henry. Henry just smirks when he sees her do it, but doesn’t say anything. Bo figures she is giving the dog the chunks of meat and just smirks, and looks at her letting her know he sees what she is doing. She gets bashful and looks down into her bowl. He gives her a chuckle. Peg seems completely oblivious to the exchange. 

When they are all done eating, Henry helps Peg clear the dishes from the table and take them into the kitchen to wash them. He calls Zeus and takes him outside to go do his business and to give Bo and Sunshine some privacy and time alone to talk.   
Bo looks across the table to Sunshine and asks her what she wants to do for the evening. She thinks, then points to the living room.

He stands up, comes around the table and stands behind her. He pulls the wheelchair out from under the table and pushes her into the living room. He then leans down and quietly asks her in his velvety voice, “What do you want to do in here? I can light a fire in the fireplace if you like. Henry split more wood this afternoon while you slept.” 

She thinks for a minute, looks up into his face and sees his eyes twinkling with mischief, then she smirks and nods. He parks her near one of the wingback chairs, so the chair is to her left, facing the fireplace, He kisses her forehead, then he goes to build the fire. 

Sunshine sits there watching him work. She thinks about all that has happened since she has been found. She thinks about how scared she was, how much pain she was in, and how kind and patient these people have been to her. 

Henry and Peg remind her of her grandparents. She just barely can remember them. Peg and Henry give her the same feelings she had when she would spend time with her grandparents as a young child before they passed away. She wants to do something nice for them to thank them, but isn’t sure what she can do that would express her gratitude. 

She lets out a slight sigh of frustration. She decides to start by drawing a picture of them, tomorrow maybe. Bo looks up at her with a questioning glance but goes back to building the fire, once she gives him a smile.   
She watches the strong arm and back muscles move beneath the cotton shirt he is wearing. She watches as the shirt tightens when he hunches forward placing wood onto the pile, and thinks about how his strong arms feel when he holds her or carries her in his arms. She realizes she feels safe when she is in his arms, and no longer fears him. “When did that happen?” she wonders. 

She looks at his long hair that is now gleaming from the light of the fire he has started, and thinks back to when he asked her what she would hold onto once he cut it. It made her sad to think he didn’t always have those lovely long locks. “What did he look like with short hair?” she wonders. She tries to picture him with short hair like Dan has, but it just doesn’t look right to her. 

She must have an odd look on her face, she realizes, because Bo looks at her with a puzzled expression. She reaches for the journal he gave her and she flips to a blank page and writes: _I just remembered your comment about you cutting your hair, and it made me sad. Was just trying to picture you with short hair and I can’t._

She holds the book out to him, and he walks over to see what she wrote.   
He chuckles when he reads it. “Here, maybe this will help.” He says as he walks to his jacket hanging on the hook in the entryway.

He pulls out his wallet, and then fishes the picture of him and Abbie out of it. He puts the wallet back and walks back over to her. He sits down next to her in the wingback chair and hands the photo to her. 

She looks at it and takes it from his hand. It’s a black and white photo of a handsome man and a beautiful, pregnant woman. The woman is just barely showing but Sunshine recognizes the glow in the woman’s face. The man has his hand on her belly and so does she. They both seem to be laughing when the photo was taken.

She studies the man’s face then looks up at Bo. She studies his face for a few minutes then looks back down at the photo. She can see it is him, but he looks SO much different now.  
He chuckles, and gently says, “I had a bit more weight on me in that photo than I do now, and my hair was a lot shorter. The woman was my wife, Abbie. We were at a parade in town for the harvest festival. It was the end of September two years ago now.” He sighs sadly.

She looks up at him and he is looking into the fireplace. She thinks he must be having a flashback memory to the time the photo was taken. She looks at the picture. 

He says quietly, “…less than a month after that picture was taken, we had a bad blizzard and she went into early labor with our daughter. I couldn’t stop the contractions and she gave birth to our daughter here at the cabin. It was a difficult and long labor. She ended up passing away due to blood loss, complications and exhaustion. Our daughter died shortly after her mother did, she was only 7 months along and came too early. I held them both in my arms as they left this world.” He says with a few tears trickling down his cheek. 

Her heart aches for what he went through. She remembers how scared she was when it happened to her and Jack was trying to comfort her. She realized that Jack must’ve felt the same way Bo probably did. She took Bo’s hand and just held it. Letting him know she understood his pain. He looks over at her and smiles. She reaches up and wipes his tears. She traces his jaw with her fingers and looks from him to the picture and back to him. She nods then places the picture in his hand and pushes it against his chest, so his hand was resting on his heart. She pats his hand, lets it go and smiles kindly at him, then looks down into her book. 

She writes: _I wish I had a picture of my husband, like you have of your wife. I miss him a lot, and am starting to forget what he looked like._

Bo looks at her surprised, and then sighs as he sees a few tears trickling down her cheek. “Do you want to talk about him?” he gently asks.  
She writes: _We were married in the spring, in March. My parents had died a year prior and we married at his farm. His farmhands were our guests along with his and my closest friends_. 

She hands him the journal to read. He reads it and nods. He hands it back to her. She flips the page, then writes" _I realized I was pregnant about a month and a half later, but the woman who worked for us who became my midwife told me not to tell him until either it was absolutely necessary, or I was past the 3 month mark. Because miscarriages were more likely during the first 3 months and she didn’t want him to worry since he was dealing with ‘Spring Planting’ planning with the farmhands._

She hands Bo the journal so he could read what she wrote. He reads it and nods again, handing it back to her. He leans over the armrest, and watches as she writes so she doesn’t have to keep stopping to show him.   
_A month and a half later, in June, he was getting one of the machines ready for the fall harvest when all of a sudden there was a loud noise and when we came running out of the outdoor kitchen, we saw someone was pinned under the machine and the farmhands were working frantically to lift the machine up and drag the person out. When they got him out, we realized it was Lee, my husband._  
 _I collapsed at his head and cried as I cradled it. They told me he was killed instantly. He had been working on greasing a wheel axle. The block and jack he had holding the machine up, slipped out and the machine had landed on his chest and crushed it…_

Bo reaches out and wipes a tear from her cheek, then runs his hand through her hair, caressing her face. “I’m so sorry, honey. You didn’t really get to experience being married for very long did you?” he asks her. She shakes her head, ‘no’.   
“How long did you know him for before you got married?” Bo asks. She writes: _We were high school sweethearts for 3 years, married only for about 5 months._

Bo sighs. “Sunshine, was he good to you?” he quietly asks. She looks at him with sad eyes and nods. Then she looks at the journal and writes: _Yes, Bo, he treated me much like you have done. He was always kind and compassionate, and I felt special and safe when he held me in his arms. He towered over me and was very protective, which is why I was afraid to tell him I was pregnant. I didn’t want him hovering and worrying about me. He had enough to worry about with planning for spring planting. Though I now regret not telling him. I feel like I robbed him of that joy in knowing he was going to be a father._

Bo rubs the back of her head. “Sweetheart, you had no way of knowing this was going to happen. You had no way to know he would be taken from you so soon and that all of this would happen. You can’t change your past, Honey, you can only learn from it.” She nods. 

“Sweetheart, is this why you like it when I am near you and hold you when you have your flashbacks?” he quietly asks her. “Because I remind you of your husband and you feel safe in my arms?” She looks at him bashfully, realizing she gave away a secret she was wanting to keep hidden. She looks down and nods. 

He reaches up to gently grasp her chin and turns her head, so she was facing him. “Sweetheart, will you look at me?” he asks her. She looks up with uncertainty in her hazel eyes, unsure of herself, and where this conversation was going. 

“I am honored that you feel you can trust me and that you feel comfortable enough to let me hold you. I know now, a glimpse of what you went through, and I want you to know that I will do my best to be with you through all this.  
I want to make sure though, that you understand that I am not your husband. I could never replace him in your heart, anymore than you could replace my wife in my heart. They will always be a part of us, buried there with our happy memories of them. But at some point, we need to let go of them, move on and continue with our lives. I wasted two years drowning in anguish, guilt and sorrow over the loss of my family. You were the only thing that brought me out of that pit of despair and anguish.   
Don’t do the same thing. Understand that had it not been for me going to town the morning that you got dumped on the side of the road, and me getting drunk at Happy Louie’s, and Amy calling Dan and Joe, and then them insisting on driving me home… I would’ve driven off the cliff at the turn right _**before**_ the spot where we found you… That is what I had planned to do that night… get drunk, drive off the cliff and commit suicide so I could join my wife and daughter in death. I was so consumed by my sadness and guilt that all I wanted and could think about was how much I wanted the pain and emptiness to end, I wanted to die.” 

Sunshine’s eyes got huge as she listened to him talk. She understood how that felt, because it was how she felt when Ed would finish beating and raping her. The only reason she did not give up and give into those feelings was because of Jack and the hope that they could escape and keep the baby safe.

Bo continues, “But since Dan and Joe insisted on driving me home that night, they prevented that from happening. Because I wasn’t driving and was in the passenger’s seat staring out the window, I was able to see you on the side of the road and we were able to rescue you and help you survive… Sweetheart, you saved me! You amazed me from the moment I first saw you with all your injuries.

We all were amazed that you were still alive despite being so battered, broken and unconscious. We didn’t understand how someone could survive all those physical injuries. Then as we learned more about your story, you amazed us even more with your strength and resiliency… especially when you smacked me on the shoulder with that cast in one of your fits in the hospital. I was surprised by how strong you were physically despite all the injuries and pain you were obviously in.

You have taught me about a woman’s inner strength, and I can tell you that you have shown me that you were able to survive things that none of us men could ever dream of surviving! I’m sure Dan and Joe would agree to that as they have said similar things.”

Sunshine’s face gets red when he mentions her clobbering him with her cast, she looks down at it and fiddles with it near her fingers, and then giggles when she pictures herself clobbering him and the surprised look he must’ve had on his face. She looks back up at Bo’s face, which is filled with admiration.

He takes her hand and kisses it gently then runs his hand along her face and into her hair. “I can’t imagine going through what all you have gone through, sweetheart, and it made me realize that my painful experience pales in comparison to what you have experienced and endured. You have taught me what it means to have strength and endurance, you have shown me that no matter what life throws at you; you should strive to survive... You taught us all what it means to be a survivor.

You have been bent, but you are not broken on the inside! You are strong and resilient and will bounce back stronger than ever with the scars to prove it. Never be ashamed of what you have survived, my dear. You are a far stronger person inside than any of us are!” 

Sunshine looks at him in complete disbelief and shock. Tears rolling down her cheeks because of his words touching her heart and mind. “I saved him?!?!?” She thought to herself.

“Please know, Sweetheart, that for now, I’m willing to be your friend. I will provide for you, help you start your life over here in this valley if you wish. But let’s take things slowly. You have endured a lot of abuse and I want to make sure you have recovered from it as much as possible first, before we go venturing down any other kind of relationship path.

I don’t want to hurt you in any way and will protect you and love you if you will let me. I want to take my time and get to know you better; and if you are willing to get to know me and love me, I would be happy to have you and be yours when this is all over and the man who tormented you is no longer a threat. 

I’m proud of you and of all you have overcome. You are an amazing, talented, beautiful woman who’s strength knows no bounds and who constantly surprises me with unexpected things. You are welcome to stay with us here in the valley for as long as you wish, all I ask is that you let me get to know you and you get to know me. That we do our best to keep communication open with each other, and we see where things go from there. 

You have brought light back into my dark life, and you will always be my Sunshine. Thank you for giving me a reason to live life again! I will forever be grateful for that gift.” He says to her with glassy eyes as he holds her hand. 

He can see his words hit the mark that they were intended to hit. She understood where they stood. Sunshine closed her eyes and nodded. Then she opened them and she looked at him with admiration, surprise and love. She nodded again and brought his hand up to her chest and hugged it the best she could with one arm. Then she lifted his hand and gently kissed his knuckles, then turned his hand over and kissed his palm. 

She was beyond happy and couldn’t hardly believe what he had just revealed to her. Her heart filled with a love she hadn’t felt in a very long time. It bubbled over and made her cry. He cared about her and loved her! He wanted her despite her brokenness! Why, she didn’t completely understand, but she couldn’t believe her ears. He just leaned over the armrest, held her head and stroked her hair. He let her cry in his arms. He kissed the top of her head and when she had cried enough and calmed, he dried her tears and handed her his teacup. “Here, Sweetheart, have a drink. It’s Earl Grey tea.” He said. 

She took a drink and immediately made a face and swallowed. He laughed and said, “Not a fan of Earl Grey, huh?” She made a face again and shook her head.

He chuckled and got up. “Then let me go get you something else. Want some Chamomile or Peppermint?” she thinks for a minute, then writes: _Chamomile please_. In the journal.

He nods and heads for the kitchen, His heart feeling happy and fuller than it has in a very, very long time. He was almost skipping and was probably grinning like a fool when he walked in there to get the tea.   
What he didn’t know was that Peg and Henry had peeked through the doorway and watched most of the scene and was able to figure out pretty easily what was said between them. When he came in and saw them there sitting at the table smirking and holding hands, he knew that they knew.

Zeus came trotting up to Bo and licked his hand and nuzzled it as if he was congratulating Bo for the accomplishment… then he trotted off into the living room to check on Sunshine. 


	40. NOW WHAT?

Chapter 40   
NOW WHAT?

  
Bo walks into the kitchen on cloud nine, feeling happy and content now that he and Sunshine were on the same page regarding their feelings for each other. He was surprised to see Peg and Henry sitting at the table smirking at him while they held hands. He had forgotten they had gone into the kitchen after supper. He chuckled when Zeus came up and licked his hand and nuzzled it as if he was congratulating Bo for his accomplishment. Bo watched the dog trot off into the living room to check on Sunshine.

“Soooo,” Henry teased him, “Did you two finally talk and get on the same page with your feelings for each other?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.   
Bo smirks and nods as he walks over to the cupboard and grabs a coffee cup to put Sunshine’s tea into. He pulls out a chamomile tea bag and puts it into the cup, then walks over to the woodstove and pours some hot water into the cup from the tea kettle that was sitting on top of the stove.

“Yes, Henry, we talked things out and got on the same page. We both agreed to take things slow and just get to know each other better and help her heal. Once all of this is over and her tormentor is caught and tried and punished, then we can see where the relationship leads. Until then, she will stay with me here and work on her recovery and healing mentally, where it’s safe.” Bo explained. 

“I just came in to get her some tea, since she apparently does not like Earl Gray.” He says with a grin.  
Peg chuckles. “Well, I’m bushed. I think I will go lie down in the master room. Wake me up when you want to put her to bed and I will help her get ready, Bo.” She tells him with a yawn.

Bo nods and looks at Henry. Henry chuckles and says, “I think I will go sit out on the porch for a bit and do some stargazing.”   
Boaz nods and turns to go back into the living room to bring Sunshine her tea. He is smiling until he sees Zeus with his head in her lap. She is staring off into the fire and seems lost in her thoughts. Zeus lets out a little whine and nuzzles her hand. She doesn’t respond. 

Bo walks over and sets the cup down, now realizing she is in one of her catatonic states again. He moves in front of her and pets Zeus, who is getting agitated. He looks at Sunshine worriedly, “Sweetheart?” he says as he picks up her left hand. She doesn’t respond.

Bo leans over her and puts his head next to hers. He whispers into her ear, “Ruth, honey, where have you gone? Come back and tell me what you are seeing.” He says. She startles when he kisses her cheek. “Hmmm?” she says quietly  
“You seemed to be lost in your thoughts again. Zeus noticed it and was trying to pull you back into reality, sweetheart. What were you thinking about?” Bo said to her sadly as he handed her the cup of chamomile tea.

She looks at him puzzled for a moment, then down at Zeus who had his chin resting on her knee and whines quietly when he sees her looking at him. She reaches down and pets his head, which sets his tail a thumping on the floor. She smiles.

Then she picks up her drawing book and begins to draw a picture of her nightmare from when she was in the hospital. The one where Ed was standing in the doorway and threw a lamp at Jack’s head for pointing out that it wasn’t her fault they had been spotted again. She drew this one almost like a comic strip, except the drawings were very life-like. It showed Ed in the doorway hollering at Jack, then one of Jack patching up her wounds, then one of the lamp hitting the wall just next to Jack’s head, then one of Jack leaving, then one of Ed grabbing her right foot and dragging her off the bed, then one of him tying her to the closet rod, and ripping off her clothes, then one of him using her for a punching bag, then one of him raping her as she was tied to the motel bed on her hands and knees with his hand over her mouth suffocating her, and his other hand pulling her head back by her hair as he hammered into her from behind.

She shuddered and closed her eyes. Bo looked at the drawings and his eyes opened wide. “Sweetheart, is this why you were so afraid of me when you first met me? Is this the flash back you were having at that time?” he asked quietly as he knelt in front of her. He could see tears in her eyes. She nodded. 

“You thought I was him standing in the doorway.” He said. She nodded, then wrote on another sheet of paper: _I could only see silhouettes in the doorway and window, I couldn’t see your face till you got to the end of my bed. When you reached out to touch my foot, I flashed back to him dragging me off the bed and I was afraid I was going to be beaten again._ She looked up at Bo as he read her writing. 

He sighed and looked up at her. “But you know now, I would never do that to you, right?” he asked as he reached up and caressed her face. He noticed the bruising was fading quickly and the scabbing was getting dried out.  
She closed her eyes and nodded, then leaned into his hand. 

“Sweetheart, what made you think of this flashback now, though?” he asked. She blushed, then looked down at the notebook. He moved his hand to rest on her knee as he watches her write.  
 _I was thinking of you, and how much I was afraid of you when we first met, compared to now, and I realized I no longer am afraid of you anymore. I don’t know when it happened, or how it happened. I find comfort and security in your presence now._  
 _I was also thinking about how you have treated me, and the kindness and compassion you have shown me since you first found me was similar to how Jack treated me, but different. He seemed to think of me as a little sister almost. He said he had always wanted a sister and it made him just sick to see what his brother was doing to me. He tried to protect me at night by laying next to me and holding me when I was afraid, hurt and needing reassurance. He would tend to my wounds, washing them and bandaging them, and occasionally stitching me up with a needle and thread. It always made my heart ache to see the hurt and worry in his eyes, and on his face when he would look at me. He would often cry holding me knowing he couldn’t protect me like he wanted to._  
 _I was just wondering how Jack was, if he is safe, and if he will get in trouble like his brother will be when he is caught. I can’t stand the thought of Jack being punished for any of this. He was just a kidnapped victim as much as I was and risked his life many times to protect me from his deranged brother! Only I escaped and he hasn’t yet._ she sighed as she turned the book for Bo to read.

Bo read her words and he looked back up into her face. “Did you love him?” he quietly asked.   
She turned the book back and wrote. “I saw him as the brother I never got to have. I loved him as if he were my big brother trying to protect me.” She turned the book so he could read it.  
He looked at it and nodded. “What if I told you that you could see him if you wanted.”   
Her eyes lit up.

Bo tells her quietly, “Dan and Joe have him staying in the jail for his own protection. The local sheriffs interrogated him the other day and he is working with them to come up with a plan to capture the older brother. But it sounds like the sheriffs from the neighboring community want to use you as the bait.” He explained with a groan. “I told them absolutely NOT! That you have been through enough and do not need to be exposed to more danger from him.” Bo told her.

Her eyes get huge and she closes them and lowers her head. Bo looks at her worriedly. “Sunshine? What are you thinking about? Please tell me. You’re not in this alone, let me help.” He says as he gently holds her chin and tilts her head up to look at him.  
She sighs, then looks down at her book, she picks up the pencil and writes: _Bo, what if using me as the bait is the only way to catch him? He is unpredictable, most of the time, but lately he has been getting sloppy and careless. He was ready to leave me tied to the tree after he whipped and raped me the morning of the day you found me. The only reason he didn’t leave me there, was because of Jack’s actions. He had hoped to escape with me after knocking out his brother, but the brother came to faster than he thought he would. When that didn’t work and he forced us back into the truck, then we put plan B into place, which resulted in you finding me on the side of the road. The ONLY reason Ed is looking for me now is to stop me from telling my story and ratting him out. He doesn’t want me back, he just wants to take out the trash and move on. Jack and I are the only ones who have seen what he is capable of doing, Bo. We are the ONLY surviving witnesses. He has no conscience, no qualms with killing a woman or an unborn child. He will kill his own brother especially if he finds out Jack has been working with Dan and Joe. He killed my babies so they wouldn’t be a liability with the crying and noise they make!_  
 _If it takes me risking my life once more for them to catch this monster, then I need to do this. He needs to be stopped and I am his ONLY weakness right now. Bo, he will not stop looking until he finds me!_

Bo reads her words and he feels like his heart wants to break. He looks up at her with pleading eyes, “Sweetheart, I cant let you do this. I can’t risk losing you to him again! Not after all you have been through! It’s too much of a risk.” He says shaking his head.   
He stands and turns to look at the fire not wanting to see the sadness in Sunshine’s face. She sighs and Zeus whines a little an she pets him as she silently lets tears roll down her cheeks. Bo lets out a sigh, moves behind her and begins to push the wheelchair into the bedroom. She doesn’t protest, knowing he is upset. 

They get into the room and he helps her out of her robe and slippers, then moves to lift her out of the chair. She wraps her arm around his neck and grips his shirt instead of his hair. He doesn’t say anything until he gets her situated on her left side, then leans down, kisses her head and says, “Get some sleep, Sweetheart, I’ll be on the porch if you need me. Peg is right here too, you won’t be left alone.” Then he runs his hand through her hair, and quietly went out of the room. 

She laid there and felt like her heart was breaking all over again. She didn’t understand why he was withdrawing like this. Did he not understand why she had to be the bait to catch Ed? She cried quietly till she finally fell asleep, curled up and clutching her soft blanket to her face and chest. Zeus hops up onto the bed and lays down against her back and whimpered slightly till she calmed and fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> more chapters to come. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to bookmark, subscribe and offer suggestions or kudos!


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